Two months ago, I made a big life change. A scary life change. A really freaking exciting life change. 

Two months ago, I quit my day job. I said goodbye to the 9-5, the only working on my dream on nights and weekends, and the exhaustion of having two very time-consuming jobs. The wake up, go to work, photoshoot, edit until I can’t keep my eyes open, sleep, repeat schedule. The saying no to family and friends and rest. 

But you know what? By saying goodbye to those things, I said HELLO and YES to so much more. More time at home. More time with my family. More putting my ALL into this business that I adore with every ounce of my being. More hard work, but hard work that I’m happy to do because it’s what I’m meant to be doing. 

I wanted to share how it all happened, because this is a big part of why I made this decision. All through the first half of this year I’d been feeling that staying at my desk job wasn’t a good decision for me. There was a whisper inside me that my time to go would be coming soon. I was struggling in all the ways - exhaustion, stress, and an overwhelming feeling that I was in the wrong place for 8 hours a day were wearing on me. 

SO. One day on my lunch break I decided to go for a walk. I grabbed my sunglasses and went to my car to get my headphones but they were nowhere in sight, so I thought I’d just take a quiet walk this time instead of listening to music as usual. As I walked, I started thinking a lot about where my life was headed and what steps I needed to take next. My thoughts started morphing into prayers, and before I knew it I was pouring my heart out to God asking him what the heck I was supposed to do next. Was taking my business full-time a good decision for my family? Was I being selfish to want to focus on my business instead of working a normal job? I found myself asking these questions out loud, confused and frustrated about where to go next, when God literally stopped me in my tracks and basically slapped me in the face with a realization. I’ve never in my life heard God’s voice so clearly, and this is what he was telling me: “Lauren, I’ve paved every stepping stone you’ve walked on to get to where you are. You never expected to be a wedding photographer - I’ve put you on this path. And the path I put you on is always the best one. So go. Pursue it.” So there I was, standing still on the side of a busy road, finally listening to what God was telling me after ignoring the whispers for so long. I took a slow, deep breath in as I felt this realization settling into my soul, and started walking again. I knew what my next steps would be.

Fast forward to now, three months after that day, and I’m a full-time business owner. Every day is a weird journey as I navigate the ins and outs of this whole new life, but let me tell you, it has been SO good. My business is getting the attention it needs, my soul is getting the love and nourishment it needs, and most of all I’m able to invest more time into and serve my clients better - and that’s what this job is all about. Serving you guys, my clients. That’s what makes this business worth it, and it’s not lost on me that I’m the luckiest in the world to get to do what makes my heart happy every day. 

To all my clients and those who support my photography, thanks for bringing my business this far. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to live out my dream. And a word of advice: if one day you can’t find your headphones to listen to your music, be ready, because God might just be ready to slap you in the face and change your life in a big way.

*do small things with great love*

-Lauren