If there is one noticeable difference between Colton and I it is most certainly the way in which we approach life's roadbumps. Say we both stand in front of the same bathroom mirror and realize our midsections are significantly thicker than they were a few weeks ago. Colton will immediately stop whatever he is doing and b-line it for the beach where he'll run - er, sprint, until he's burned off an entire month's worth of calories. In a word, it’s impressive. I, however, will immediately stop whatever I am doing and b-line it for the freezer where I'll take solace in mint chocolate chip ice cream. Or five handfuls of white chocolate chips. Or anything I find that promises a lifetime of {bad} health issues. It is also, in a word, impressive.
While Colton can master life’s obstacles by being intrinsically motivated, I must be held by the hand and told a hundred times over that my legs don’t look like freight trains in gym shorts and that I don’t, as I thought I did, waddle like a lame duck while trying to run on a treadmill. If Cole thrives on bettering himself, I thrive on being encouraged by others.
So Saturday, during our two-hour drive home from the airport when I couldn’t for the life of me stop talking about how excited I was to implement some much needed change in my life and my business, Colton was happy for me. He understood that I was returning from a week with like-minded people who were able to support one another in a way that encouraged us to become both better photographers and better people.
To be completely honest, I spent a few solid days trying to piece together what I had hoped to get out of this workshop. Yet as hard as I tried I couldn’t put my finger on what it was that I wanted to learn. I walked into the conference room last Tuesday morning to group full of beautiful, kind hearted individuals who were willing to open their souls in order to encourage one another. What I left with were 20 incredible new friends who I am blessed to know and proud to call my peers.
And this amazing gift is more than I have gained from all of the other workshops I have ever been a part of.
- M.
