this time of travel has been full of many busy days with mountains to climb and lake shores to hike and new foods to eat, but in all the in between there is also much more downtime than in our normal lives. long bus rides come with loads of time to think and dream and plan and any quiet days always result in talks between me and michael about all that is to come for us in the next few years.
we talk about the house we want to own and the kids we´ll one day have and the work we´d love to do. michael´s wants for his work life are still afloat, unsure of where he wants to land, much like most people our age… but mine are landed and grounded and growing very large roots in all the time they´ve been given to grow over these past two months.
michael and i have been talking about me going into photography, full time, for almost a year but i wasn´t sure when we´d be in a place for me to make that leap. for now to be the time sounds crazy and unavoidable and perfect.
we´ll be coming home with almost nothing to our name. we sold just about every piece of furniture we owned when we left los angeles, and the things we did bring with us all arrived with scars from the move. we won´t have a salary, we won´t have an apartment or a house, we won´t have much. we´ll be staying with my mom until michael can find a job and we can get on our own feet. never did i think i´d be 24 years old and living back at my childhood home with my husband! but it´s exactly where we´ll be and we are so happy that we have that home to catch us.
and not having any of those things also comes with so much freedom. there is no mortgage or rent to pay and no other mouths to feed but our own and our two dogs and we don´t take much. we lived in los angeles on so very little for months and months and months to be able to save money for this trip we´re on now so we feel very sure that once michael has a job we can make do on his one salary until i am able to contribute. so even if by jumping in i only make $100 this year, i have to jump. there is no better time.
the longer i wait the more time i am spending not doing what i want to do with my life. this isn´t to be a hobby or a little side job, this is to be what i will craft into a business that will help feed our (eventual family) and pay for our (eventual) home because i really believe that doing what i love will be fruitful – more so than doing anything else in the world.
the biggest leap was telling our parents, and no one even freaked out! just support all around, which is SO wonderful. so, the next big step is stating it here. for whatever reason i have been avoiding writing this post. it is such a vulnerable thing to publicly say, ¨this is what i want to do,¨ and then have everyone get to watch as i succeed or fail.
but for now, we are so optimistic! i have so many, many, many plans for this year to come. i am incredibly excited. i´ve filled pages and pages of a little green notebook i have here with me with ideas and thoughts and hopes.
first things first, i´m getting funding for the start up costs and working with a graphic designer to get everything updated and refreshed and ready for a big reveal to come in the spring. which sounds so perfect to be happening in spring. a new beginning, a fresh start, so much to come!
