How I arrived here.
What is the one thing you liked doing the most when you were a child?
We were sitting in a tea salon. My best friend and I. When she asked me this. My instinct was to reply simply, but I took a moment. There were many things I liked doing when I was a child. What did they all have in common though?
Telling stories.
Less of a straight line, more of a winding road.
The answer has always been there. I just wasn't able to see it. All my life I've been emersing myself in storytelling in one way or another. When I was little my sister and I made up games to play that usually had some kind of backstory. When I got a little bit older and learned to read I discovered the joy of books.
I owned a lot of books, but I would also visit the library frequently. Did I ever love the library when I was young. Not just because of the books, but the atmosphere as well. The smell of paper. The sound of books getting checked in and out. Many books I reread time and time again, because that's what I had, time. Also.. not a lot of other stuff to worry about.
Then one day as I was watching a tv series an idea came to me. Photography! That was going to be my thing. That was what I was passionate about (as the cool kids who have it all figured out say). I was going to make a living being a photographer. Now, I do not regret that decision for one second. On the contrary. Even as a photographer I wanted to tell stories. I didn't want to do portrait or fashion or wedding photography. I wanted to create. Worlds, stories, images that told a story of some kind. This is exactly why this journey came to an end one day. I realised that in many instances I was not allowed to create the story. I was merely there to set up some lights and take the shots. I was not supposed to do the creative director's job, or the stylists job. To me that felt too limiting. To me photography was never about capturing the story it was about creating it. By myself. My ideas. My creations. Thankfully I learned on my interships that this is not what the life of a photographer is about.
And so that chapter ended. While I would never trade those experiences for anything and feel no regrets whatsoever, it did leave me lost once again. No purpose. I was so sure that photography was the way.
So now what?
For years I had not even an inkling as to what the answer to that question might be. Until that day in the tea salon. That question changed everything for me. And let me tell you this. Had I not first gone back to school to study photography I would have never met the person who would one day ask me the one thing that would make every single piece of the puzzle fall into place in an instant.
I want to write. I want my life to revolve around storytelling. I want to put my own stories out into the world for others to enjoy. I hope that with my stories I will be able to bring some comfort, joy or clarity to someone who needs it. Like so many authors through time have done for me. So here we are. Taking the first step. On to the path that I feel is right for me.
The Book Path.
Red Writing Hood