Having the Courage to try Something New

“The whole process is art. But art is work.”

— Peter McKinnon

The Thought

Let’s wind the clock back to approximately a year and a half ago. I was sitting in my favorite chair with a steaming cup of coffee on a warm Saturday morning. It was quiet in the family room, but my thoughts were quite loud.

I had been struggling for the past several months contemplating on what I should do with my life. I had come to the realization that I didn’t have many hobbies outside of work and school.

While being in clubs and organizations are fun during the year, summertime for me was a time of boredom. Suddenly, a thought started brewing in my head. I asked myself, “What about photography?”

Something New

Almost instantly after this thought had occurred, my mind raced towards my phone where my fingers frantically typed “camera” into the search bar on Ebay. I had no idea how to take artistic photos, let alone work a professional DSLR. Still, I decided to go through with my impulsive decision and bought a Nikon D3200; a DSLR for those who were new to photography.

After receiving the camera, and watching many YouTube tutorials, I tested it out. I instantly fell in love. One of the first photos I took was of a butterfly sitting on a beautiful white flower. I was captivated by the creamy bokeh and high resolution of the photo that I had taken. It was then that I realized that I had found a hobby that made me experience an overwhelming amount of joy that I longed to share with the world.

The Lesson

Something that I always worried about was the judgment of others based upon what I love to do. For some inherently strange reason, I thought that photography would label me as someone who was ‘uncool’ or ‘not good enough’ to share my talent. It is through this art form that I have found that the single most important opinion one should worry about is their own.

So many people are afraid to follow their passions and dreams at the expense of other’s opinions. It can hold back even the most creative and innovative people who long to share their ideas and aspirations with the world. For me, it was photography. Maybe it is something else for you.

But here is my challenge: Do Not Be Afraid. Go try that new sport that you have always wanted or audition for that role that is intimidating. Go paint that portrait or write that novel, because you deserve to express your talents and creativity to the world.

And who knows? Maybe, one day, you will get your picture taken because of it.