Persistence.

Some mornings you are going to roll out of bed before the sun rises. You are going to throw on some old clothes, brush your teeth, and leave the house with no makeup on. You are going to grab your camera, not ask any questions, and you are going to shoot. You are going to shoot anything and everything. And you are going to be thinking about the story in your head the entire time. The story you want to tell. It is as though you can see the words as you walk through the dew filled grass trying to shoot the sun rising in the background.

Insert the word persistence.

Persistence – Noun. Firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition. And she knew the only way to continue to chase her dreams was with an attitude of persistence.

I blinked and in one moment realized it was April. The last month completely flew by for me. I know that happens sometimes. Life happens. Time changes. Beauty surrounds. And in a few short minutes you realize how quickly time can pass.

Last Monday, three months of blogging easily turned into sixth months of blogging. I can’t believe it has happened so quickly. To be honest, these last few weeks have been filled. That in turn means more moments filled with smiles and lots of laughter and some beautiful chaos. But, less writing.

Insert the word persistence.

Persistence. The type of attitude I want to have for this space. In spite of everything that is happening in life I want this tiny, creative space to succeed.

Persistence.

Three months ago, I did a few recap posts on my blogging journey. I initially wanted to see if I was capable of doing this. Of creating. Of writing. Of photographing. And for the most part I have succeeded. You can read about my initial recap here. With those thoughts in mind, I created a few blogging goals for this space. You can check out those goals here.

With the sixth month mark just passing, I wanted to evaluate again how things are going. These check-in points help me to see where I am going and what I need to improve. They help me realize all that I have accomplished in such a short period of time. Alright, let’s do this!

What has been working? Listening to my “gut” and trusting on topics that I should write about. Feeling free to be honest with my words. Being excited and proud of this space. Seriously, I love hearing feedback and comments about this space. It gives me more purpose and makes me feel like I’m contributing something to this world. My new camera lens! That little guy makes me shoot in manual. We have choice words some days, don’t worry. But, overall it was a good decision to purchase because he makes me learn.

What hasn’t been working? Feeling frustrated when I can’t seem to make time, writing, or photography happen. Creativity is something that happens when I am relaxed and not thinking of all the things on my to-do list. I’m a list maker, and my to-do list can get long some days. It gets hard balancing everything, and frustration enters. Not enough action. I have a long list of actions I want to take, but for some reason I get a little afraid. That leads me to being paralyzed and not taking the leap.

What have you learned? I need to be realistic with my time. Some days (or months) will be easier than others. The key aspect to remember is to focus on what is important and worry less about everything else. It will all somehow take care of itself. Patience when it comes to photography and to celebrate the tiny victories. At some point all the practicing will pay off, and I will absolutely love my photographs.

What is next? My next check-in point will be when I reach the one-year blogging mark. September 30th. Until then, I want to focus on making this space inspirational and successful. Wish me luck!