Mapping out my calendar for 2018 has me all sorts of excited! Launching this spokesmodel program is only the beginning of the long list of growth I am planning for the new year and that got me thinking of what goals I want to strive for in 2018. And after a lot of back and forth, I think my goal is to be more open and honest. So often our social media feeds are filled with everyone’s highlight reels and it can be so easy to compare their “perfect” lives to your own messy sometimes dysfunctional one. I can admit to both. There are times I won’t post anything because it shows my life is far from perfect. WHICH IS CRAZY!!!

I’ll admit that I do not have it all figured out, far from it actually. I am awful at creating a good work/life balance. I let myself work to the point of exhaustion. I have a hard time saying no even if I know I am already stressed with the amount of work on my plate. I am my own worst critic about anything and everything. The list can go on and on and on but I am working on it and that is what is important.

Take this picture for example, it is probably one of my favorite photos from the entire year (Shout out to Hope!) But you want to know a secret, the entire drive to Prairie I was nervous and freaking out that I would mess something up, like I had to talk myself down saying it would all work out and turn out perfect and that was BEFORE we had even taken the pictures!

And this wasn’t a one time thing, this happens before EVERY SINGLE SESSION! No joke. I know it all comes down to wanting to give my clients images they are proud to share with the world and an experience that will leave them feeling like a rockstar, but it is hard. I care about my clients more than I can even begin to describe. These images are their memories and that responsibility isn’t something I take lightly. But you know what, it always works out and I leave the session wondering why I was nervous in the first place.

Moral of this novel: It is okay to share your highlights with the world, in fact I encourage it but don’t forget that no one’s life is perfect. There is always SOMETHING going on behind the scenes.