Failure. My BFF.
Out of 32 years of life, I have found out something. That I’m really good at failing.
It started in school when I tried to make the team and I was a bench-warmer on the Varsity basketball team for four years. It happened in band class, when I made LAST chair in wind ensemble EVERY year.
I never could get perfect 4.0. I was 20th in ranking in my class in high school and my SAT score wasn’t even good enough to get me into my top 6 colleges.
At first, I would get really frustrated- banging my head on the proverbial “wall.” Thinking, “Why do I have to have it so difficult?” And of course, I married someone that literally can walk into a room and be the superstar of EVERYTHING. Like literally, my husband can cook any meal or dessert without catching the house on fire (true story) and he plays over 15 instruments. I’m not kidding.
So you would think that I would be surprised when I tried to start my own business in 2012, thinking that my path would be smooth sailing. Ha! Where do I begin?
Could I tell you the time that I shot an entire session on web-quality format and all the pictures were too small to even print?
How about the time that my flash fell right in the middle of the dance floor during the first dance and just barely grazed a $500 wedding cake?
What about the time that I literally passed out during a wedding ceremony and fell into a relative while wearing all $10,000 worth of camera gear and they had to stop the ceremony and check on me.
Here’s one last one- shooting an entire family portrait session at a wedding, while my lens was unknowingly broken and NOT focusing, AND my memory card became “unreadable” afterword. Ugh.
Failure. Apparently, I can either fight it, or learn to be BFF’s with it. I’m glad that I’ve accepted the latter.
According to brainyquote.com (which of course you know is a reputable source), that Thomas Edison apparently said, “I have not failed, I have just figured out 1,000 ways that it won’t work.” So Mr. Edison (or whoever originally said this), I feel you. But I wouldn’t change a thing.
I’ve had to work HARD, hustle, scrimp together every piece of equipment and practically BEG to be hired sometimes. All because I am passionate. Passionate and CRAZY in love with my fifth appendage called my camera. But not only am I in love with photography, I am MORE in love with the connection that I get from being around people and families in love. That keeps me getting up every day.
So if you think that you are a failure. GREAT! Join the club. Now get up, dust your self off- and get back in there.
Christal
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