I know I say this all the time and I’m practically becoming a broken record, but HOW DOES TIME GO BY SO FAST? It seems to go by faster every year, and the scary thing about that is my mom says that it goes by even faster when you have kids. I can’t imagine time going by any faster than it already is. And no, there aren’t any little Nesbitts headed our way any time soon…if I have a tummy it’s because I really like beer and carbohydrates:)

This weekend marks the one year anniversary of one of the scariest, craziest, best things I’ve ever done….leaving my full time job! I can’t say that it’s been easy every day or that I haven’t struggled or been anxious and afraid since I took the leap, but I can say with 100 percent honesty that I don’t regret it, not even a little bit.

Like with anything else, the last year had plenty of ups and downs. There were times when I felt so amazing and so happy to be free and living my life on MY terms and then others when I was so scared I would never book another wedding and that I would go broke and have to sell everything we owned to survive (yeah, I can be a little dramatic…haha). Being self employed isn’t easy and I’m not going to lie or sugar coat it for you guys…it’s not for everyone.

I’d have to say that even though there were plenty of uncertain times and moments where I was scared out of my mind, the best parts of the year outweighed anything negative I could complain about. I’ve cried so many happy tears shooting weddings for people that I have come to love as my friends, and feel so lucky to have been able to get to know so many awesome couples. I’ve been to a ton of cool places that I would have never been if life didn’t take me on this journey, and I’ve eaten so much wedding cake I should probably weigh a lot more than I do. Being full time has given me so much joy.

(Thank you Ashley for this image of me!)

The best thing that happened this year was something that happened just a couple of weeks ago. My mom was telling me over the phone about an extended family member’s sudden passing and how short life really is…and she told me that she was so proud of me. That life is so short and the fact that I was brave enough to leave a job I didn’t love and take a chance at something I did, made her really proud. I don’t know about you, but I feel like there’s nothing in life that could mean more to me than my mom being proud of me. Especially when I was so afraid to tell her I was thinking about leaving my job because I was sure she would think it was irresponsible or crazy! Her words meant so much to me and they were the one moment this year (out of so many amazing things that have happened!) that meant the most to me.

The most important thing I’ve learned this year is that I have to let things go. I can’t do everything, be perfect, get everything done as quickly as I’d like, and say yes to everyone. Not everyone is going to like me, and not everyone will want to book me, be my friend, or read this blog. I can’t worry about what the future holds because I just don’t know. And worrying about it isn’t going to change what might happen, or give me a better quality of life now. I just have to remember to stay in the moment and enjoy every second of what life has given me, both good and bad.

Thank you so much to all of my clients, photography friends, my regular friends, and my family for all of your support and love over the past year. It’s meant so much to me and I’m so thankful to have you all in my corner!