friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.- author unknown

i feel so blessed to be surrounded by such amazing, inspiring, encouraging, supportive people. the kind of people who i can openly share with, get me thinking and keep me on my toes. today, i messaged with a friend for hours. this was a bit of our conversation...

...how did i get here. how am i living my dream. how are people buying my vision? how am i an artist-- exactly as i wanted to be... and having done nothing to be that. how long can i keep this up? how the fuck do i do this seriously and be serious about it, without it eating me up and shrinking me away. how do i deal with the anxiety of not being able to say no, and always feeling the stress of fear of disappointing people.

learning. each and every time. amazing people surrounding me. amazing clients...

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how do i deal with the anxiety of...can i keep producing? what happens if the magic just stops happening? if it stops coming my way? because clearly this is all magic? because it just happened. i mean i had to work hard but how did i end up here? it was just a dream. but now it's here and i don't want to wake up. how far will this take me? is it to a place that's even bigger than i ever dreamt?

no matter what though, i will embrace each and every opportunity that comes my way. i will never forget to be grateful. i will never forget to give back.

because in the end, this is a dream come true...something i will never take it for granted. i am truly and deeply blessed in so many ways and this wouldn't be possible without my family. yes...grateful and blessed!!

learning...always. growing. believing. facing fears. moving forward. loving those who surround me and encourage me. amazing. amazing journey for sure!!

i can't even begin to tell you how much her conversation meant to me today. how much i cherish each and every conversation with my friends.

we all have a choice of who surround us. i hope you choose to be surrounded by those who inspire, support and encourage you. because when you surround yourself with authentic, honest friendships, it's a truly, truly beautiful...and powerful thing!!

photo from when i first began studying photography (early 2006). kiele and her best friend, natalie. it's probably the toughest thing about being a military family...having to watch your children say good-bye to their best friend(s) over and over again. however, i'm so grateful for phone, email, facebook, skype, etc., which allows them to easily keep in touch. hoping kiele and nat will see each other again soon.