February 15, 2012

Say Something

Sometimes I wonder why I photograph, why photography is the career I wish to pursue.  Ever since I've owned a camera, I've been taking photos.  I love to capture beauty and people and places and life.  And that's usually what I say if I'm ever asked.  This week, I'm realizing why I love it for a whole new reason.
I'm shy.  Not in an antisocial homeschooled way (I hope), but just shy.  I can talk to individuals quite easily, but when it comes to a large group, my hands start shaking and my face turns red.  I've never been good at it.  Even when I was seven and too scared to ask my ballet teacher where the bathroom was.  (You can guess how that turned out.)  But believe me, I'm really working on getting better at this.  (That whole fear of man thing...)
Maybe that's why I like to photograph and write and read.  My head behind a camera, pencil, or book.  My thoughts are expressed through ways other than my mouth, which seems to be the hardest.  But when I hold a camera or pencil, I feel like a different person.  (And sometimes, one that I never will be.)  I feel like I can do things, accomplish things, change things.  I learned this week that there are other ways to influence people than through speeches and lectures.  Our written words and our photographs - they have potential.  They have potential to teach people something.

So this is for all you quiet people, you shy people, and you reserved.  
But this is also for all you photographers, you writers, you readers.

Embrace those talents God has given you, and instead of wishing to do something you can't, do something you can.  Yes, strive to learn new things, but don't forget about those things you've loved to do your whole life.  Just because your mouth is closed, doesn't mean you aren't saying anything.

17 comments:

  1. wow.
    I kind of feel like this post was written for me.
    also, I want that camera :)

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  2. I really enjoyed reading this post! Sometimes I wonder the same things. And it is very inspiring to hear that even if I'm not saying anything with my mouth, I could still be sending a message to others. :)

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  3. wow, this hit home! i'm shy, too, but naturally so. i'm an introvert at heart, so these hobbies are a great outlet for me. photography has never been a big one, but lately i've been wanting to try it more -- hence the saving for a camera.

    xoxo,
    Jessica @ Diary of a Beautiful Soul

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  4. like mary ann, this is so me. i do talk alot and i have lots of friends. but really? i think so much more. sometimes i'm so quiet that people think i'm an antisocial weirdo planning to gruesomely kill all of them. but anyway, loved this post :))
    -jocee <3

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  5. This completely sums up what photography feels like to me. It's nice being able to express yourself in other ways than words! Love the pictures! :)

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  6. i should be finishing an essay right now for a class tomorrow, but i just had to take a minute to read this.
    it was wonderful, olivia. thanks for sharing! that last paragraph is just perfect.
    well said!

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  7. Somehow knowing that you're not the only one who feels this way makes it all the more bearable. I've become much more open and outgoing this year, but there are still times when I wear my shyness on my sleeve. Those are the times when all I want to do is blend in and be invisible, or perhaps hide behind my camera. I just love the way you wrote this! :)

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  8. Wow, this is stunning. I love the last line. My new motto. :) The story about you being too shy to ask where the bathroom is -- it sounds just like me! Haha. I still feel uncomfortalbe in groups, too, but I do see God helping me to overcome it. Slowly, over the years, it's getting better. Hugs.

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  9. love this, olivia :-) i'm a lot older than you, and still working on the eloquence of the verbal word. i'd much rather sit here and type it all out!
    hope you're doing well.

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  10. you put everything i feel into words! i'm not good with words unless they're on paper. but, like you said, we should use the talents God gives us. so i'll write and sing my heart out to tell the world what He's done.

    "with every minute and i'm livin' in it and that's how i say it." -britt nicole, say it

    p.s. i have to recite poetry in front of a crowd today for my creative writing class. please pray that i don't barf on my shoes. (for some reason i've always had that fear haha!!)

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  11. Wow. That ending paragraph is amazing. Very well stated Olivia. :)
    And I love photography for very similar reason to you. I love it because you can express yourself without using words. Its a wonderful thing and can be just as powerful as talking, if not more.

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  12. Wow, this is beautiful. I can relate to every line of this. Word for word. I think we might be twins, separated at birth. Because really. :)

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  13. Beautiful. Simply beautiful, Olivia!
    "Just because your mouth is closed, doesn't mean you aren't saying anything." --Yes, yes, YES!

    I don't think in words, but thoughts--so I struggle with writing in words. So I write with light. :)
    "...to speak technically, photography is the art of writing with light" - Gerardo Suter

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  14. Olivia, you are amazing. That last line was beautiful!

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  15. Wow, Livvie. This is so true. I'm kinda shy, but I'm like you. One person at a time no big group for me thank you. I love to read and write too. Oh, did you get my song? :) I've missed chatting with ya!

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