I am committed to being of service in the communities in which I exist – I want to be immersed, integrated.
I do a lot of things in my work, and that can be confusing in a world that asks only for a job title, a singular focus on a linear track. I’m more of a meandering hike, get lost in the woods kind of person – I like to look closely at the fuzzy underbelly of mushrooms, stop to smell the lilacs, fill my pockets with rocks. I want to stumble upon unexpected magic, following my curiosity rather than a map. I seek to be delighted, and I am easily delighted. My experiences in life may not always be sweet, but they are always rich with wonder.
That said, I also know where I’m heading. I know that all of the pieces I bring into what I collectively identify as “my work” may make me seem fickle or flighty – I also know that it isn’t true. It is all rooted in one core:
I am passionately invested in the human experience, in The Stories of Us & Magic in the Mundane.
All that I do is a manifestation of understanding, strengthening, and documenting the paths we take through life, in pursuit of the whole & joyful self.
I am on a continuous journey to encourage, support, and bear witness to the stories unfolding around me – even as I unravel and wind my own way through the lifelong process of self-creation.
Ok, gosh, I’m getting there. I’m nothing if not wordy.
I believe that the world is better when every individual is living their best life, with joy and purpose. For me, that path has led to a life of entrepreneurship, as I create the life I want to live on my own terms – and it has led to supporting other women as they do the same. My “main gig” is a brand strategist & designer – and through this work I get to help people who, like me, want to make the world just a bit better. Through business, I get to partner with people who have good hearts, big ideas, and unmatched determination.
I believe in a purpose-driven life – that in doing what we are called to do, we are more content, more fulfilled, and also showing up to play the role we designed for, and making the world better as a result. I also believe that purpose is revealed through play, by following our natural curiosity & exploring freely where it leads us. As a multi-passionate creative, a professional supporting purpose-led women, and a homeschooling mom of four kids – I have had endless opportunities to witness what can happen when we follow our sense of wonder, how life can unfold in ways we never imagined.
It is is my goal to facilitate this energy in my life and in my community. To help people give themselves permission to play, create, make messes, ask big questions, and to find their way to delight.
In a time when we are more connected than ever, lonliness is also a painfully common experience. There is so much power in deep community connections, in knowing that the people around you will support you, and that you have space to do your purpose-driven work and to be valued for it.
I believe that we are capable of so much good when we choose to collaborate with the people around us – but I also believe that what strengthens the roots of community is not big action, exciting events, or a really pretty facade. Instead it is the in-between moments that happen in the average, day-to-day of existing, when nothing is planned, and nothing is happening. It’s not feeding the hungry neighbor you barely know when they are desperate enough to ask, it’s regularly tending the garden side-by-side, making an extra totdish when you know they are under the weather, and knowing they’ll do the same for you. I believe we need to prioritize simply being together, and that we need community spaces where that can happen – where people feel welcome to gather and connect.
I have always been a history buff, and especially loved digging through the closets & drawers of my mother and grandmothers, pouring over old photos, heirlooms, and the records of our history. As an adult, I began to study genealogy, and learned that there is so much more to our stories than we realize – and that much is lost to time, that so many of the things that matter most slip away unnoticed. I discovered that genealogy is a tool for understanding, and healing, the difficult patterns that emerge in families. I made an effort to ask my family questions, to memories every detail of our history that they could share with me, and to know them more deeply than I ever had before.
When I became a mother, I also picked up a camera – and began to learn how to find the beauty in our everyday life. When I became a photographer, I continued to seek out the in-between moments – I wanted more than pretty photos, I wanted to capture the beautiful reality of the people in front of me, to help tell their story in this chapter of life. As I grew, I spent less time directing poses, and more time being silly, laughing with them, listening to them share what was heavy on their hearts, reminisce, and light up as they gushed about what they were hopeful for. I whispered to moms that it was ok if their toddler was crying, screaming, running through the mud. I crawled under couches, over dogs, and into rivers to avoid interrupting their real moment. This was the magic – we were creating memories.