2025 was wild.


A year of firsts.


I was scared, if I am being honest. Not because I doubted myself, but because my health had not been on my side.

I launched my business at the beginning of the year while navigating a severe endometriosis flare that had me on my knees since November 2024. The pain made it hard to leave the house. I stopped exercising, stopped going out, and began building a life around pain and limitation.

I was in emergency twice and had surgery in September. I am still recovering, while also learning to live with a lifelong illness that will continue to shape how I move through the world.


I chose to work slowly and with care. I reached out only to people whose values aligned with mine. I focused on fewer shoots, but deeper experiences. That way I could give each person my full presence and energy.

Showing up on social media was harder than I expected. I have always been a bit of a rebel, and everyone seemed to be telling me to follow trends. That has never really been me. I even started to resent Instagram, as I could not cope with the level of constant engagement it seemed to demand.


I love connecting with people, but I had to confront the reality that my capacity was lower than what I expected of myself. That was a challenge in itself. How do you create meaningful, wholesome connections without being on your phone all day?


Part of this has also been understanding myself more deeply. I am introverted and neurodivergent, which brings its own set of challenges when it comes to running a business, especially in an online space that often rewards constant output and visibility. Learning how to work with my nervous system, rather than against it, has been essential.


Eventually, I came back to the core of my business. It is not about quantity, but quality. Throughout my life, when people tell me there is only one way to do something, my instinct is to find another. I was never going to post every day or follow the masses. I had to do this my way, in a sustainable way.


After years of burnout, and mental health struggles, learning to understand and honour my own needs has been pivotal to the longevity and my success in the long run.


That approach came with its own challenges. Reaching out meant leaving my comfort zone, learning to sit with silence, ghosting, and rejection. It meant not taking things personally and learning when to push and when to stop.

For most of my life, once I have an idea, I push until it costs me. This year, I tried to listen. I paid attention to the red, yellow, and green lights, a term I got from the book “Greenlights” a read a couple years ago. I moved only when my intuition said yes.


For the first time, it worked.


There were moments of overwhelm and frustration, but also deep joy. The work has been demanding, but it has never felt misaligned. In fact, it is the most certain I have ever felt about my path.


For the first time in my life, I am not anxious about the future. I trust that if I keep showing up and working toward my goals, things will continue to unfold as they have.


I see my work improving with each shoot. I feel my creativity expanding. The connections I have made feel genuine and lasting.


This year I held my first solo exhibition, something I had been terrified to do. I also took part in several group exhibitions, and my work was featured in multiple magazines and photography platforms. Most of all, I felt supported, encouraged, and held by my community. That has meant everything.


I am looking ahead to 2026 with openness. For the challenges, the growth, the new connections, and the continued expansion of my practice as an artist and creator.


Thank you so much for being here, it means more than you know.