Starting Your Own Business: Fun, Scary, & a Whole Lotta Work
For just about as long as I can remember, I have been in school. I love it, I love learning and routine and reading and all the other aspects that most people hate about it. Through elementary, high school, and then college I have walked in bright eyed and eager in every classroom. So when I decided about a month ago now to drop out of college and start my own business pursing my long time hobby of photography, I was terrified. Who was I, and more importantly what was I worth, if I wasn’t getting a college degree? My entire self worth had been built around getting a good education, a safe job, and getting the hell out of this town. So why was I changing the plan now?
I wasn’t happy. And I mean, deeply unsatisfied to my core. Despite being successful in school, learning more than I ever imagined, and being just about a year away from graduation, I just couldn’t take it anymore because I wasn’t happy. In the process of throwing my entire being into my school work, I had really lost every other aspect of my personality. School consumed my life, and because I wanted to go to graduate school, it wasn’t even close to being over. I also realized that I could continue exploring my passion for physics on my own through reading at home, a pass time much loved but much neglected for the past probably 10 years. So for as much as I love learning, I knew that our existence is not concrete, and I did not want to spend what I had left of it consumed in a Mechanics I textbook (even though it’s a pretty good read). I want to be consumed in nature, in the vast wonder of the night sky, in the earth, and in life around me. I’ve never felt more free than when I’m somewhere in a national park with no cell services surrounded by beautiful scenery. So that’s what I’ve decided to do.
It just so happens for me that photography has always been a beloved pass time, and its also the perfect way for me to share those grand experiences with the people around me. That’s why Goldsmith Studios was born, to capture the beauty around us, bring it to your home, and hopefully inspire you to get out there and see it for yourself one day. Now I know I’ve just made this whole experience sound amazing and dreamy and like something straight out of an inspiring Netflix movie, but let me assure you, it is no easy feat. I am extremely lucky to have the support of my wonderful husband, an opportunity to make money on the side doing contract work, and have the basic ground work laid for me to start up this business. Still I’ve worked hard to establish a new routine and battled major imposter syndrome, criticizing my own work more harshly than ever before because quite frankly I am terrified to share it with the world. Plus, I have absolutely 0 experience running a business, so there’s been that whole learning curve. But the earth has a lifespan and so do we, and I refuse to spend mine not seeing all that this universe has to offer. So, here I am, pouring out my heart through my artwork to strangers on the internet. Truly, not something I thought I’d ever say, but I’m thankful to be here. Even more, I’m thankful to you for taking the time to check out my work and read what I have to say. That alone is enough support for me to keep going. I hope you’re able to stick around and watch as I ebb and flow with all that life throws at me.
