My 30th Birthday Message
A much happier me sitting above the beautiful city of Verona. Not a bad place to be working!
Disclaimer: This week’s blog is a little bit different. Something much more personal and far less to do with photography. Though it is perhaps the most important blog I’ve written so far. Let me know what you think in the comments and I’ll be back next week with more photography focused content.
So here it is. This week I hit the big three zero! It’s not like I never expected to make it this far, but it really does feel like a big milestone. So much has changed for me in the past decade.
It isn’t just my birthday though; my grandfather would also have turned 100 years old had he not already passed. But before he died, he said something very important to me that I should have paid much more attention to at the time: a man without a destination never arrives. It’s only now I know how true that really is.
Most of my 20s have been a real struggle. I was hopelessly lost and rudderless. I didn’t know what career I wanted to follow, I didn’t understand what truly interested and inspired me and most importantly of all, I had no idea what kind of man I wanted to be. All this chaos left me anxious and lacking in confidence, leading ultimately to frustration and loneliness. Thankfully I never got into any kind of serious depression, but it was still a painful time and not something I’d wish on anyone.
Sadly, there are so many other young men today who are going through what I did. Lacking in purpose, without a sense of destination, and most crucially of all without the right role models to guide them to safer shores. Slowly dying before they’ve even lived.
Thankfully for me I am one of the lucky ones. My life has changed dramatically for the better in the past few years and I credit that both to my language learning with German & Japanese and taking the bold step in going full time with my career as a freelance photographer. Both things have not only forced me out of my comfort zone, but also connected me with so many more people who’ve made a tremendous difference in my life. I’m so much happier now than I was then, and I exit my 20s in a much better place than where I started.
As it stands 2023 is turning out to be the best year of my life so far. I finally feel passion, purpose and have a sense of being useful. After a long time on the plateau, life is finally on the ascendency. I’m happy, not with the man I’ve become, but with the man I’m becoming. There’s always room for more growth.
Mental health is important, but I worry at times that the conversation around it has become too trendy and not very practical. Talking and reflecting on your issues is important but the most critical thing is always action. You have to want it, and then you have to do it, only then will life get better. No conversation or pill can replace that.
This photo here is a self-portrait from a work trip to Verona last month, something I scarcely could have imagined even just a short time ago. I don’t worry about the failures of the past anymore; I just look ahead to what more I can achieve in the future. Besides, it’s only failure if you don’t learn from it, and I’ve learned plenty. Thank you to everyone who’s helped me along the way, whether you know it or not.
Happy Birthday Grandad, I hope the view up there is a good one. I’ll do my best to make you, Gran, Granny and Tad-cu proud.
