I’ve purposefully held back from posting this for the first few days of 2018. Assuming you have been swamped by stories of how to save money, lose weight, write goals, sleep more, give up alcohol and *then* some, it all just becomes wallpaper, right? If you don’t start bang on New Year’s Day, is it even worth doing?? I beg to differ.
Peeking into the lives of others on New Year’s Eve was addictive
Floods of social media feeds were filled with #BestNine2017 grids on the last day of the year. Peeking into the highlights of other people became addictive as I marvelled in seeing nine squares of joy, happiness and love. Weddings, newborns, holidays, significant milestones, the lot! As an authentic family photographer from Greater Manchester, there’s nothing more satisfying than seeing photos illustrate the finest stories of a person’s year. However, it struck me how most grids created by females, on the whole, had one type of photo missing. Photos of themselves. Just them. No one else; just them.
Last year, I blogged about my mum story. I talked about how I want to empower mums to take personal responsibility for realising the benefits of being in more photos with their children on a continuous basis. It bugs me that most mums don’t get in enough photos and I am still on a mission to stop this for the sake of our children. And it shouldn’t be up to the dads either, don’t get me started!
It was definitely telling me something!
There seemed a definite connection to this too. Unintentionally my grid was the same! Ashamedly, four years to the date, I’ve taken a photograph of my family’s life every day, yet individual photos of me, whether selfies or not, rarely appear. And that’s coming from a photographer! Consequently, I’m always too busy taking photos of others to focus on me.
2018 is going to be my year!
Needless to say, this is going to be a focus for 2018. Why? Purely because I deserve to have a few half decent photos of me. Just me being me rather than mother, wife, sister, daughter or friend. Photos that I can look back on and think, ‘yes, that small slice of my chaotic world is reserved just for me’. Whether it be a moment of tranquility once the kids go to bed, or a rare time reserved without the kids (like the below!) then bring it on I say!
Going public commits action
Sharing a goal publicly will spur me on. Committing to just 18 authentic photos of me being me, all on my own will give me the opportunity, if I wish, to produce two #BestNine2018 grids just of me! Simply put, it’s just one photo every 20 days. Realistically it’s going to be a bit more fluid than that but it’s achievable when it’s broken down isn’t it? Time consuming it won’t be, easy and focused it will. I can’t wait to get started!
Care to join me?
Inspiration is part of my DNA (after all it was my first born, Joseph, who inspired me to set up my own business) so if you would like to get involved use #my18in18 on Facebook or Instagram. I’ll be your cheerleader, cheering you on as we travel this journey together. Come on ladies (and gents!), do this one small and achievable thing for you this year...