Paris. A good decision.

Paris had always been on my bucket list. Back then I dreamed of traveling the world, being creative, maybe as a photographer even if only as a hobby. Unfortunately, those were pre-digital days and I couldn’t see a way to earn a living at it. Society signaled me to move on from dreams and get practical. 

For years, I did just that, dutifully providing for everyone while putting myself last. Then late one cold November night half asleep listening to a podcast, I hear a photographer with a French accent promoting her photo walk / class in, of all places…Paris. For real? I clicked through my mental checklist: She was a reputable, proven resource, she was Parisian and she was offering an event there in the spring. 

So many things raced through my mind - this was not a cheap endeavor, I‘m not young and I’m not a photographer. As a single mom, I questioned whether I was being selfish or if it was too frivolous? Did I really deserve it? Jeez, the tension. I love my family but when I thought back on where the last five or even ten years went, it was all a blur. Hmmm. Maybe it was time to push out those doubts and see the value in nurturing my creative self? I kept coming back to, if not now, when?  

The road getting there may have been a little rocky but April in Paris was beautiful. I was meant to be there. I met the most charming and interesting people from around the world and saw Paris through new eyes. “Photographers, please come here” were words my instructor used often. She referred to us as “photographers” though no one in the group earned their living from it. Plus, while here, her rule was that we must also call one another photographers. It seemed odd at first but in no time, when I began to act ‘as if’ I actually started to take on the posture of and believe I was a photographer.  

The power of this whole experience stopped me in my tracks. True, it lit a desire to learn the craft and begin building a body of work but interestingly, I resisted printing my work, feeling accomplished merely by the act of taking the pictures.  

It took some time and I still cringe a bit at the label, but thanks to that class in Paris I realized many things. It only becomes art when you print and share your work with others. You must be generous and kind to yourself. And if you act as if, you will begin to embody the gifts we’ve generously been given.  

I don’t know what’s ahead or exactly how photography plays into future plans but my STORY has evolved and now includes the creative and expressive along side the strategic and operational. I believe there’s real value in the not-so-practical. 

For me, Paris truly was a good decision.