Where It All Began

The Light Bulb Moment

I knew from an early age that I wasn’t going to be satisfied working a day to day, socially acceptable job. We’re asked time and time again what we want to be when we grow up and I never had an answer. It wasn’t clear to me that I wanted to be a nurse, or a lawyer, or a chef. For a long time I envied my fellow classmates who chose their path and stuck with it, and not only that but were beyond ecstatic to begin their lives. Come high school all of my friends slowly started applying to universities and feeling confident in their next steps, while I sat back and prayed I’d have that light bulb moment before it was too late. I am now 21 years old, and after having worked multiple odd jobs, I came to the realization that I couldn’t keep waiting and expecting to fall in love with an accepted career in our society.

Shot In The Dark

I knew I had a desire for travel and basing my life on the beauty of the Earth and the nature it holds, but I never fathomed I could make it into a lucrative and successful journey. It didn’t take long after graduating high school before I decided I was no longer okay with working minimum wage jobs and constantly feeling anxious over going to work and not bringing in enough money to live comfortably. I figured that finally going to university would be the best way to get out of my rut, to take classes in literally any subject and hope something sparked my interest down the road. But I quickly realized I was only truly there to please my friends and family, and that being in school with no direction actually made me more stressed and anxious. So I went back to that idea of travel and living life time and location independent, which led me to beginning a career as a flight attendant.

Back To Square One

I began the flying journey at the beginning of January 2020 and worked only until the start of April, when I was placed on a leave of absence due to Covid-19. I felt extremely discouraged at this point, as I thought there was a good chance I had just begun my version of a dream career and it was taken from me before I had the chance to discover if this were true. Being brought back to square one got me thinking that although flight attending allowed me to pursue a viable career as well as travel much more frequently, I still envisioned being able to be my own boss, working on my own schedule, and reducing my ever encompassing anxiety. I finally decided I had nothing else to lose. I had a growing passion for photography ever since I was young, and I thought this could be the perfect way to have my own brand, do what I truly desired, and live a happy life. With the crazy happenings in our world this year, I found it an opportune time to take the risk and start my travel photography business Escaping Monotony.

Written In My Values

I had no idea where to start and was terrified about being immediately unsuccessful. I thought about what I wanted my brand’s focus to be and how I could best connect with people all over the world. Thinking back to where it all began, I remembered a spoken word poem I had written for my grade 11 English class, and I think it speaks volumes to my values and desires, and is very fitting for the ideology behind my business. I thought sharing the transcript would be a fitting introduction, so here it is:

Have You Ever Stopped To Wonder Why...

We forget how unbelievable it is that we are here.

The Earth was created by matter colliding in the right place at the right time and somehow that’s how we came to be.

If only that’s how the rest of the world worked. 

Life would be so much easier that way.

Have you ever stopped to wonder why it is we live the way we do? 

Why everything we know was created for us to work? 

School? Work. College? Work. Money? Work. 

How about instead we go to the other side of the world and see all the unseen scenery. 

We wake up early in the morning and try with great efforts to fit in the essentials all in each day, work and no play or so that’s what they say, but what if things were different. 

Life would be so much easier that way.

Have you ever stopped to wonder why time is even measured? 

Why do we spend it overwhelmed and unhappy? 

How about we drop everything and do only what we love. 

We are always pressed for time, always busy, never taking a breath. 

Time rushes us, stresses us, tires us, but what if we could stop time just to take a breath. 

Life would be so much easier that way. 

Have you ever stopped to wonder why we do the things we do? 

We didn’t ask for this way of life it was forced upon us, so why would we follow it? 

How about we discover all other forms of life. 

We go through the same routine everyday for most of our lives too scared to make a change. Education and money is important but if we didn’t have to live this way, would it be? 

Life would be so much easier that way. 

Have you ever stopped to wonder what a different existence would entail? 

Why do we follow the rules? 

How about we explore every country and every culture. 

Why aren’t the experiences of experiencing the world so much more valuable? 

Sure we can travel, look up at the sky, go to space and examine other life on Earth, but these things only happen on spare time, years of education, or vacation time. 

Why can’t there be a more enjoyable way of life? 

One where we can live with the world and explore every little detail about it. 

Not working, eating, sleeping. Not stressed, rushed, exhausted. 

Life would be so much easier that way. 

Have you ever stopped to wonder why? 

Have you ever thought to ask what if?

I know I am constantly stressed, constantly anxious, constantly depressed. 

I wake up every morning and wonder what if there were another way. 

I’m not saying we can change the life we live, I simply wish we could. 

But at the end of the day life gets in the way. 

We must learn to live on borrowed time.

Let’s Connect!

If you’ve read through this and it’s sparked a common value, interest, goal, or ideology, lets get to know each other! As I am new to both business and blogging, I would love to interact with people who have a similar lifestyle and thought process so take a look at my website and social media, and send me a message! Lets inspire and learn from one another!

Until next time ☺️