Now I’m not one to throw around the word ‘faith’ lightly as I think it’s a bit if-y. It’s too often used in the context surrounding religion, and that’s a whole other topic altogether that I don’t like to go talking to strangers about, lightly, yes… ok, but not to be taken too seriously. BUT I think it’s the right word to use when I starting thinking about goals and dreams.
I’ve always been a BIG dreamer. And by big I mean… you might call me crazy. Some of the things I’ve ‘wanted to be’, growing up (including, but not limited to): Flight Attendant (so I could live the literal ‘high’ life and travel the world for work), Chef (so I could create yummy dishes all day and be like ma dad), play write/cinematographer (so I could make awesome stories up in my head and turn them into a movie for people to watch), translator (so I could work for the UN and get closer to saving the world, and travel to places I’d never even dreamed of), An ASIO Agent (You will laugh at this one! The Aussie version of a CIA/MI6 Agent… a SPY!), a war photographer (this dream came about the time I finished watching the movie Black Diamond for the first time), a Hotel Manager (until I realized – quite quickly, thank goodness – that it WASN’T for me at all), a Person Who Saves Trees (yes, I am serious. Did you know: Trees breathe out the air that we breathe in? No more trees = human extinction. They play such a huge role in the ecosystems’ survival… everything would fall apart if all the natural rainforests in the world disappeared…). So there you have it. A few of the job titles (that I can think of off the top of my head) I had once pined for. I dreamed them because I believed I could be them. For some, I still do.
Dreams / goals are a big thing for me. It was always drilled into me as a young one to ‘do what makes you happy’. So I became a firm believer in that exact saying. Ask anyone around.
I went through my teen years not really know what I wanted to do, except ‘what makes me happy’ and so started a process of elimination. I interned at a popular magazine in Sydney one summer. Nope, not for me. I taught myself photography, LOVED it. Spent all the years from the age 15 being slightly obsessed with everything photography related. I dreamed, and dreamed. Later on, I took several TAFE courses in hospitality, liked it. I studied Hospitality Management at university, liked it but something wasn’t right (crazy expensive tuition being the main issue). I decided to drop out after my first year. I continued to work in hospitality for a few more years until it was just too draining. By that time, I’d been with Nek a few years and he knew me (better than me) apparently, and told me to just go for it. Just follow my dream of becoming a photographer and see what happens. If it fails, the worst that could happen was I would have to fall back on a not so bad hospitality career in Thailand, a country I could speak the language.
That was the push I needed. He believed I could do it, which in turn made me believe I could do it. So I guess my point is, no matter what you’re feeling today, I want you to try. Have faith in yourself. Have faith in the fact that things will work out. If you don’t have faith in your ability just yet, have faith in the fact that people will help you get there. (When I was just starting to believe – still in my full-time hospitality job – I emailed several HUGE photography superstars for advice, and to my surprise, they emailed back.) Have faith that you will learn, and you will get better. Find your dream and chase it, it will make you happy.
