Hello Everyone,
Thank you for taking the time to stop by my online creative journal! This online journal is part of what I call “My First Step.” Technically, I took my first step four years ago when I decided to start a career as a photographer and cinematographer. Now that I am close to graduating from the university this Fall of 2016, I finally feel like I have gained enough experience as an artist that I can share not only what I’ve learned, but also a bit about my creative process, both inside and outside of the photo/film studios. So without further ado, here is my first entry about "My First Step."
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." - Lao Tzu
It's always the hardest step to take but I can honestly say that it is the best, if not the most important. When I finally made the decision to stop pursuing ballet, I had spent over six months agonizing over whether or not I should leave. I was in constant pain because I didn’t want to go. For the last fifteen years of my life I was sweating, bleeding, crying, and battling for a place in a world that didn’t want me, and at the end of the day when I looked around I could feel my dream dying. I could see it in my reflection each day in class, until one day it wasn’t there anymore. It had finally left me. The funny thing is, it took me all of two seconds to say it out loud and to accept that it was time to move on. I was living a miserable life, I had hit rock bottom and suddenly it was more of a relief to let it go then it was to continue to hold on. And although things weren’t spontaneously perfect afterwards, I finally understood what people mean when they say “it’s like having the world lifted off of your shoulders”. I felt such a release after deciding to let go. It felt like breathing for the first time after holding your breath for ten minutes straight. It was a relief because I knew that in that moment I had taken my first step towards a new life, and although I was scared out of my mind, I knew I could make it one hundred times better then what I was living those past years.
Take your first step and go live the life you deserve. One that doesn’t include constant pain and suffering, where you can flourish and be free from yourself. I guarantee you, you will thank yourself for it later.
Alicia M. Blair
Image Title: Self Portrait, 2015
©AliciaM.BlairPhotography