One of the perks about being a wedding videographer, is that you get to listen to a variety of great toasts and speeches at the reception. The best man usually gets up there and unveils several incriminating, while still family-friendly memories about the groom. Then the maid/matron of honor steps up and reminisces on all the fashion disasters the bride used to rock back in the day. And then a parent of the bride and/or groom gets up there and comments on how they thought this day would never come and how light their wallet feels (just kidding :) ), but also about how much they adore their son/daughter and how proud they are of the new couple. But then when all the embarrassing stories and sentimental moments are done, some of the toasts end with a few words of wisdom and reminders about the next step. And usually (or at least the last few weddings I’ve been to) they say something like, “Always remember these three things..” or “Our family has always lived off of these three things…”

Well, the other day I found the above image on Pinterest, and I decided that those would be ‘my three things.’

There’s no telling what tomorrow will bring. Some days are going to be super stressful and busy. Some days nothing will go right. There are a lot of things we can’t control, we can’t predict. But we can control how we go about them. No matter what kind of day it turns out to be, I will always try to ‘be silly, be honest, and be kind.’ And that hopefully by remembering to be those three things, each day will end on a good note :)

What are your three things?

Every time I hang out with someone besides my roommates, I’m asked about work, my current jobs, and what my next step is going to be. Every time I’m asked these questions, I tend to generalize my current situation and downplay what I do. I don’t know why I do it, because it’s certainly not a good thing, but I just do. And I think it’s either one of two things… Or maybe even both. It may be because I don’t like talking about myself and going into depth about my life and my current goals/dreams. It’s just not my personality, and I would much rather push the attention on to someone else and listen to their story. Or it could also be because I have this notion that after college you have to follow a certain path, and since I haven’t been… that what I’m doing is not considered “right.”

It wasn’t until I had a long conversation with an old friend that I was slapped back into reality.

They told me “Get over the idea of doing things based on what others think. Realize what makes you you, what makes you happy, and own it. Start living for you.”

They continued to add, “The way people interpret what you do is based on how you present it. Don’t down play your passion, or what makes you happy. It’s your life and you have to accept it and believe in it before others can.”

And the fact of the matter is, I am proud of what I’m doing now. I just was too focused on what I wasn’t doing, to realize that what I was doing was doing what was most important; making me happy.

As for next year, there will be some new decisions that will need to be made, but all I know is that whatever I choose to do, it will be because it makes me happy, and it makes me, me. And it will be something that when asked what I do, I will be proud to tell the entire truth, no matter how long it takes. I’m excited for my new perspective on things, and for what’s to come.

-And to my friend who told me all of this, you know who you are, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.