“Giving up is the only sure way to fail.” – Gena Showalter

A little more than a month ago, I did something I had never done before.  I shot film.  It was fun.  And exciting.  And inspiring.  And difficult, frustrating and discouraging.

I’m going to be real here….at first glance after receiving my scans back from the lab, my heart sunk.  I closed down the program I used to view them and didn’t open them up again for more than a week.  Granted, I was out of the office sick during that time, but I wasn’t chomping at the bit to face them again.  When I opened them again and really looked at them, I think my heart sunk even lower to see that they weren’t all perfectly exposed, in focus, and reflecting the beautiful colors I was expecting.  From there I let that terrible thing called discouragement take me under.

I had a choice.  Allow the discouragement to keep me under and never resurface….or embrace this place of vulnerability to use it as motivation to learn, grow and push forward to develop something that has the potential to bring me a lot of joy and inspiration.  What a shame it would have been if I would have given up completely the first time I attempted and failed to ride a bike as a little girl. Or as a 16 year old if I would have given up driving altogether after getting a ticket and hitting a parked car within one weeks time (yes, it happened).  What a shame it would have been if I would have decided to close up shop for good as a new business owner who “lost” a potential client to another local photographer.  To think of all that I would have been robbed of had I given up on the first tries of life…such a shame.

And so, of course, I will try again.  Of course, of course, of course, I will.

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A million times thank you to my friend Allison of Allison Kuhn Photography.  Allison does beautiful work – you would be remiss to not check out her website.  She is due with her second baby (a boy!) here very shortly. Please enjoy three of my favorites from her film maternity session.  🙂