What I learned from The August Break

For the entire month of August I participated in the August Break, a daily photography project hosted by Susanna Conway, where we took a photo each day based off a one or two word prompt. I jumped in last minute and had a fantastic time engaging with my surroundings in a completely new way. Here are some of the interesting insights I had along the way:

• The way I do one thing is the way I do everything. At the beginning of the month, I felt excitement and motivation, the project was on my mind at the start of every day, and I was actively looking ahead and searching my environments for inspiration. I noticed my thrill waned by the end of the third and beginning of the fourth week, to the point that I even posted a day late a couple times, or didn't even think about or look at the prompt until the sun had gone down and I didn't have much time left, or even posted photos I'd taken months ago but still fit the parameters. This is how I typically approach every new undertaking in my life: I start out strong, unwavering in my commitment; and then the halfway point passes and my motivation drops significantly. It made me see that even for things that I am choosing to do, and that light me up, I need to find a way to stay connected lest my creative juices become one more thing to muscle through or cross off the to-do list.
• I had a ton of fun. Ever since I've started giving myself more permission to explore my creative side, I have been enjoying my life so much more. From an outsiders' perspective, nothing has changed; I still have my routines, and my day job; I still have to cook all the food and wash all the dishes and clean all the clothes at the laundromat; I'm still on a tight budget and have to be very deliberate with my purchases; yet incorporating creative practices throughout my day has brought so much joy to all of that. It's fun to approach the mundane with fresh eyes; to create the extraordinary within the structure of everyday ordinary living.
• The work doesn't have to be "perfect" for me to share it. I can share things I create without being an expert, without knowing everything (in this case, about photography), without it even being good, at all--that's not really the point. Right now, the point is self expression; sharing my point of view; finding new ways to deliver my message with fresh eyes and perspective. This knowledge inspires me to be curious about other modes of self expression, something I probably would not have considered before. I'm thinking ceramics.

Here's a glimpse from tonight's sunset--this magical magical time in Northern California, where we finally get proper summer, just as Autumn is about to start. Incredible: