My life changes so quickly that I frequently feel as though I’m breathlessly trying and failing to catch up. This year has been a year of change and of endings. If I could use one Youtube video to sum up and evoke my life, it would be that HBO promo of Tony Soprano, overlooking the ocean as he contemplates his entire existence coming to a head:
This year, jobs have ended. Relationships have ended. School has ended. Virtually every significant element of my life has undergone some irrevocable change. It has been a year of loss, and I face a future full of uncertainty.
Simultaneously, I’ve also had so many blessings this year:
- I visited one of the most beautiful places on Earth
- I met director Peter Jackson
- I took a class with one of the best wedding photographers in the world
- I helped Stephen Tobolowsky put on a storytelling performance
- I launched a budding photography business
- I will soon receive a Master’s degree from a decent educational institution
It has been a year of amazing times, of great challenges, and of personal and professional growth. While many of the above things were done through sheer force of will, I would be lost without those who have supported me during this challenging time. Through late night phone conversations, relentless encouragement, and stunning self-sacrifice, my friends around me have helped me in immeasurable ways. You know who you are.
I am eternally grateful to those who have volunteered their time (and their posing) this year to help me become a better photographer. Together, I believe we’ve made some great art. Thanks for your patience and for your support.
But in addition to my “offline” friends, I continue to be thankful for my online colleagues, who have continued to stimulate my mind and support me in all that I do. You have heartened me so much and given me the strength to keep going.
And as usual, I remain grateful to you, the reader, listener, Tweeter, Facebooker, and enabler of all my online adventures. Thanks for your continued readership, listenership, and support. I certainly would not be where I am without you.
The future could not be less clear these days, and I am not sure where I will be one year from today. But today, right now, I’m grateful to be surrounded by the love of family and of friends. It is truly all I need.