So, here are some fun questions from yesterday's Q&A Wednesday:
If you weren't married & a Momma to a sweet girl.. what would your life be like... obviously this is a guess.. so dream big & tell me what you think it would be.
This is actually a tricky one. Growing up, I knew I always wanted to be a mama. It was just ingrained in me from an early age, so I think I may be depressed if I didn't have my girl! Photography was the other passion deep inside of me at a young age. I wanted to start this process at 17, but was told no. I think that I would have cycled my way to it at some point because it was always important to me. Or a stripper. Maybe I would have been a stripper.
What do you feel is your greatest accomplishment? Something that you never thought you could do but did.
Greatest accomplishment is my girl. She is THE COOLEST kid I have ever met. Like, seriously. I talk to mamas all the time in the photography world, whether during a birth or a newborn session & we talk about the terrifying moment where they tell you to leave the comfort & security of the hospital & take your new one home. "Are you sure I'm allowed to? What if she needs a new diaper? I can't be expected to be changing diapers all day!? I have fire crotch!" The entire first year you are just praying that you can keep them alive! And then you do! It's pretty incredible to grow a human & then sustain it & turn it into a pretty cool kid.
Second to her is my business. It's nowhere near where I want it to be, but I do this part-time because I'm her mama first. I think I will always want more - it's the nature of humanity - but I am pretty pumped with what I have accomplished in the first 3 years.
What was your defining moment when you knew that you wanted to do photography?
Defining moment. I don't know that I had a defining moment. Or maybe I did. I always wanted to make it happen, but it wasn't feasible until my husband quit his full-time job & I had a newborn. PERFECT TIMING! My hubby knew that this was deep inside of me & I wanted to make it happen, so he handed me the credit card & said, "do it. You'll regret it if you don't." And he was right. There are days I want to throw in the towel, there are days when I think I am going to be a famous photographer (again, emotional extremist). I love it, and I am so privileged to do it. To be the one capturing a baby's first breath or the first kiss at a wedding?! Hello, dream job. And I do BOTH with tears streaming down my face every.last.time.
If you could hold on to just one memory from your life forever, what would it be?
This is a tough one. I immediately think about Granny. I'm transported back to her dining room as she spritzes her Red Door on her wrists, and draws her "albrows on." Or I think of my uncle Ron who I knew for a couple of years before he was killed. But then I think, I always want to remember the moment I said yes at my wedding, the moment my girl was placed in my arms. I guess I want to hold on to all of them.
Who has been the biggest influence in your life, and what did they teach you?
Biggest influence goes to my hubs. He is cool as a cucumber, unswayed by stupid people, and has patience out the wazoo. And while I am still far from how awesome he is, he has helped me learn to relax...kinda...and to appreciate the victories in life. Just the other day he was telling me to be happy for getting the things I wanted, not sad about the things that I still have yet to attain. Glass half full. I'm still learning, but he's taught me a lot. Hopefully, my daughter will be more like him. He's rad.
What motivates you in your success with photography, weight loss, and being a good mama? How do you juggle it all?
What motivated my photography, weight loss, and being the best mama I can be is this kid.
I started losing weight before I was pregnant with her so that I could have help pregnancies. I continued losing weight after I had her because I had struggled my whole life with being overweight and having an unhealthy relationship with food, and I never wanted her to watch me struggle & learn that poor behavior. I started photography because of her. I had this beautiful, smiley, dimply baby girl & was taking hundreds of pictures a day. She was the final push to make me pursue it. And I want to be a good mama because she deserves it. I fall short every single day, but I'm doing my best to be a killer mama.
Do I juggle it? Clumsily, I would say. I try my hardest, but there are days when things get neglected. Like the dishes. It's hard to have it all. We can't have it all & be excellent at all of it. I wish I could be, but it's just not possible. I think we all look at other mamas & only see the perfectly-quaffed, out of sweat pants photos & forget that we are all just trying to do the best we can. We put the best version of ourselves out there, when in reality, we're all just do the best we can to hold it together, to juggle our balls, and to make it seem effortless. It's a whole lotta effort. Let's call a spade a spade here.
Thanks so much for these fun questions! I had a good time answering these!
Happy Thursday!
a.
Ohhh that Q&A beats the Ms. Universe Q&A!!!!! I love it.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Kathrine Joyce