Flashback
The year was 1998 and I was a 5th grader at M. Hall Stanton Elementary School in the mean streets of North Philadelphia; 16th and Cumberland Streets to be exact. My best friend and I harassed our peers for finished Frito-Lay chip bags at lunch and even scanned the school grounds during recess and after school picking up crumpled chip bags amongst cigarette butts, wet leaves, and other filth. I was determined to collect the amount of Planet Lunch Points needed for my very own film camera. It was THAT serious. That year, I was also a part of the yearbook staff- in which each member had their very own disposable camera to snap pictures of classmates and staff. I mainly took pictures of my bestie at the time and got called out for it! Haha. These are some of my first memories falling in love with photography.
Me pictured in my midnight blue patent leather First Down puffer jacket. Sourced from ‘98 M. Hall Stanton yearbook.
In the last quarter of 2019, I vowed to get serious about my purpose and the things that set my soul on fire. I’ve been doing some hard self-reflecting, digging deep in to parts that have been hidden to answer the questions, “Who am I? What do I like? What do I truly enjoy?”. It took me flashing back to really uncover all of my passions, especially photography, that were there all along. I had forgotten about my excitement to get that camera in the 5th grade. I had forgotten about how I would borrow my dad’s camera, take a million pictures of myself and spend hours learning new editing techniques in GIMP (bootleg Photoshop). I didn’t think much of the fact that I follow a trillion photographers on IG and gawk at their work. I bought my DSLR camera initially to vlog and take higher quality pictures for my old natural hair blog. I never thought “why not me, let me take photography seriously” until I honestly cried out to God recently for him to show me the path to take and he dropped some signs right on me. I wrote in a post on Instagram, after sharing one of my first self portraits online:
“Starting now, I’m tapping into all creative parts of me. No limitations, no self-doubt, no fear, no distractions, no excuses. Just putting the work in; using my gifts, developing my talents and just doing what sets my soul on fire.”
In this age of social media, it can be very easy to lose your way and get off track. You’re inundated with highlight reels, “overnight success” stories and the list goes on. You can find yourself thinking, “Heck, if they’re doing it, making money, so can I”. Yes, I’m sure you can, but what is your THING. If you’re unsure, it’s perfectly fine to try new things until you get there; however, there has to be true joy and passion involved in whatever you’re pursuing. I found myself tangled in this web some time ago. This is what drove me to flash back and really think, before this wave of social media and seeing what everyone is doing, what set my soul on fire, even as a child. That’s what I want to run towards.
So here we are. Learning, growing and doing the things that I always loved and that I believe God has gifted me with. Not leaving any stones uncovered as I journey towards where I’m destined to be.
Proverbs 18:16 -“A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.”
What are some of your passions and gifts that you’ve been sitting on? How do you plan to make use of them this year or how did you decide to get started? Let’s chat!