12/22/2021
Hey, It took me almost four months to get out of my creative funk. I am not even sure what was creating the feeling of inadequacy. I just knew that I felt as if I wasn't good enough. I felt as if my work wasn't good enough. I wasn't happy with what I was creating, and being forthright, perhaps I was so busy with photography jobs that I was working on finishing the job. I felt like an imposter in the very same industry that has brought me so many awards, recognitions, speaking engagements, and the opportunity to travel the world and see things that a kid from Hawaii would dream of seeing and doing.
I gave up on social media for five weeks. Facebook and Instagram simply because it wasn't bringing me any joy. The constant bickering, complaining, and malcontent of other people was and is still causing me a great deal of anxiety and frustration. The thing has always been that social media isn't social. It never really has been. At the same time, social media has also helped me create friends that I would have never met had it not been for the connections in small groups with other like-minded people on Facebook. I can honestly say the large group is nothing but depression. My timeline has devolved into something that I hope never would. I get it. We all grow up and get swept up in things we feel are important, and Facebook isn't as important to me as it once was, and this break away from social media has proven that in spades.
So this may probably be my last post of the year. Maybe it will be my last post on my personal page for some time, but I want to encourage you to push through when times seem off. When you don't feel good enough, work hard or take a break but do what is best for you. Your online life isn't as important as your in-person life, so I want to implore you to concentrate on the ones important to you. Write a letter to yourself, write a letter to someone important to you. Create even when you don't feel like creating. As much as we share the good things in our lives, it is also great to communicate when we struggle.
Take a break and breath; your work today will be there tomorrow. The people online today will be the same people who will be online tomorrow. Enjoy life because we only get one shot at it. If your photograph gets one like or 1,000, people will move on to the next thing, and that's ok too. Maybe this will resonate with you. Perhaps it won't. There is a lot to live for, but Panera isn't one. 2021 has been wild; 2022 will be wilder. Let's enjoy it while we can. Life is nothing but a mist, and it's here, and then it isn't.
Yesterday, I created images with two people I adore and who trust me to create imagery that they will hang in their homes. I am incredibly thankful to do what I do for a living. I'm not sure, I'm 100% out of my creative funk, but I do know I'm getting closer to being out of It than I was five weeks ago. Life as a creative is hard but worth it. Ain't life grand. My prayer for you in 2022 is that you find happiness and contentment. Thanks for reading.