When I first got a camera and started driving around my hometown I was taking pictures of whatever caught my eye. Photography was something that made me happy; I took pictures purely for my own enjoyment. Time passed, and I branched out from just wandering around shooting into doing a lot of photography jobs because I put pressure on myself to say yes to everything that came my way. Something that had previously been a creative outlet became a chore I dreaded doing and as a result, I burned out.
There were a lot of other factors at play in this burnout. I was overextending myself in other areas of my life and, as a result, my anxiety was at an all-time high while my self-esteem was at an all-time low. So I shut down.
I continued to meet up with people and shoot portraits for my personal portfolio but I would let the photos sit unedited for far too long. At the same time, the other areas of life in which I was struggling became more and more overwhelming. I hit my lowest point in April when I was hospitalized for passing out due to exhaustion.
Since then, things have slowly been getting better. I learned what I could handle and when to say no. There's a lot I'm still working on but I can see and feel progress.
It's November now and I'm at a point where I'm taking photos again. I know my limits and I'm at a much better place in life. I have a more positive outlook and I'm ready to see where that can take me. I'll be writing more here, too. Photos say a lot by themselves but I want to give more context to the images I share.
