I have just come back from an amazing holiday at the Whitsundays that we went on as a family together, and even though I enjoyed every second of it, I could not wait to be back to editing the photos my clients are waiting for... Not because I felt any pressure but because I know that there are some amazing, true, magical moments waiting to be enhanced...
Jetting over The Heart Reef in Whitsundays, Queensland. An awesome present from my awesome husband! Love you darling!
This was a beautiful realisation for me. I am at this point in my life now, that not only am I happy with my awesome family we created, but also, that I do for a living something that I truly love and enjoy. Doing it comes with ease! I think this was the first time in my life that while being on holidays I thought with excitement, that I could not wait to get back to work! What a fantastic feeling!
'You're so lucky', you may say... Well, this has nothing to do with luck. Yes, I am very blessed to have such an awesome and supportive husband, but those who have known me for long enough know how much time, work and determination it took me to get where I am now.
I went through different jobs in my life. I was an activity therapist back in Poland (which I also absolutely loved), I was a housekeeper, cleaner, babysitter and waitress... But always in the back of my mind, these were just temporary jobs. I have NEVER wanted to be stuck in a job that isn't who I am... I always thought, that would be like dying a slow death.
Photography has always been my passion, but for some reason I didn't think I could do this for a living. I always thought I would go back into activity therapy, or psychology, because I absolutely LOVE people. This must be why the vast majority of my photos feature people, their emotions caught in a moment, their relationships...
I prayed and contemplated about finding clarity in my life, and then it hit me. Funnily enough, I did't mention anything to Jack, my husband on the day I first thought about it, but that night, he said 'Have you thought about doing photography for a living'?
So there I was, with a one year old child, the second one about to pop out, doing cleaning jobs and traveling form Brisbane to the Gold Coast every week to The Academy of Design, which was a highly regarded photography course. Jack gave up one day of his working every week to stay at home with our daughter Milly, and then not long after, we were all travelling together with our brand new baby, who I was feeding every three hours! Loads of assignments in the meantime, and of course joys of motherhood, such us sleepless nights! Yet, I was always on time with all of my assignments, always on time at the college, reading and practicing every 'spare' second but never satisfied with my results. This kept me moving forward.
The business side of my job has always been a learning curve, and it still is of course. But I have always known I can not give up on this- my passion.
So here I am today, happy to be back at work... And it feels like breathing...
Seriously people, there is always a way to do what you truly like doing, that talking about it comes with ease, like breathing. And if that way isn't working, there are alternative ones. You may change the path but do not give up on your dream.
Maja Szumylo