I can’t believe I haven’t made a single post in 2019 and am now penning this just on Christmas Eve.
And yet, thinking about it for just half a second, it makes total sense. 2019 has been a year of a ton of change - some of it thrust upon me and some of it I chased after. I’ve never been one to settle for anything. When work circumstances changed on me earlier this year and I was popped out of a role I loved into one that I just found draining, I knew it was time to do something about it. I know some people can compartmentalize or recharge using their creative pursuits, but I just am not that kind of person. My energy levels sink to the part of my life that’s low and underserved. After a few months to see if things would improve and when they didn’t, I found a new challenge and a new opportunity. That probably sounds like small potatoes, but considering I had been at the same company for almost 10 years (pretty much unheard of among my millennial peers), it was a big step.
It felt great though - to be living in line with the best advice that I got from business school - to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. Really pushing up against the ceiling of my capabilities until I burst through to the next level.
Now that I’m back in a job and a company that I love, I’m back to doubling down in my creative pursuits. It’s definitely a symbiotic system for me - I go HAM or I don’t bother. I looked back at my project hours just out of curiosity and the hours prove out:
2019 was the year I spent the least amount of time on this project since I started 6 years ago, clocking in only 62 hours to date.
During the period immediately following the restructure, I only clocked 2 hours total in 4 months. Probably the longest I’ve gone without touching my gear.
About 40 of the hours from this year (roughly 65%) happened after I changed companies to a better professional situation in September
Needless to say, I’m excited and ready to get back on with this project. I have had some great opportunities to shoot this year and try new things, like renting a monster zoom lens for an Alaskan cruise that yielded a ton of amazing shots.
The Hubbard Glacier calving into the sea - never would have gotten this shot without the telephoto I rented
I went back into my spreadsheet and looked - all told, since my last update in October 2018, I’ve put in 125.5 hours into this project, which brings up my total to 844 cumulative hours in 6 years.
Here’s to hoping I’ll get to updating these into full blown editorial posts - somehow Instagram is so much easier!!