I’ve been putting this off for over a week now. It’s one of these posts where I don’t quite know where to start. I mean, I could list every event in chronological order or break my days down in timeline format or even post my calendar schedule.

But what you’d miss is every in-between moment that wasn’t listed on my day planner. It was the laughter and hugs and tears that made this experience what it turned out to be. It was every in-between moment that wasn’t planned that made my soul dance.

I had written this to my friend, Sarah, before our trip:

Okay, I’m not going to lie: I am terrified about WPPI. 

I have been out-of-my-mind excited, probably swept up in the “glamour” of it all. Until yesterday. I stumbled across this post by Karen Stott, which kind of brought everything back to the basics for me…like, what am I going to wear, will I have the courage to meet new people, how will I stay “me” and not succumb to my fears of being a huge underdog?

And it even comes down to the stupidest self-esteem issues. Like, I remember at PPI last year, everyone was walking around with their beautiful 5Ds (at the time, I didn’t have mine yet) and their fancy lenses ALL THE WHILE looking like gorgeous models. And I thought, “Dang, the water in the shower made my hair all limp so I just look like a drowned rat.”

And obviously I’m not at a photography convention to make impressions about my appearance, yet I know that WPPI is going to be another whole field to play on. People whom I adore online (Jasmine, Mary, etc.) are going to be there and it’s a who’s who reunion for those who are big-wigs. For newbies, like me (us), I’m scared that I’ll get sucked into my natural habitat of being incredibly shy and, in this business, you don’t get many places by being shy.

I’m so incredibly grateful that you are going and that, by going, you gave me the courage to go as well. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do, but lord knows I would be terrified to go by myself. I’m SO looking forward to meeting Kina as well. And who knows who else?! But I think I need to keep reminding myself to stop comparing. I need to be confident in me and this type of event is where I always have my biggest downfalls in that area.

I AM excited. And I think I need to just keep reminding myself that I am me and that makes me unique. I know it will be fun. We’ll make it fun no matter what.

Thanks for listening.

We braved it together (along with our friend Kina). And you know what? It wasn’t that scary after all. And when things became overwhelming or the days became long, we lounged on the outdoor sofas and let our bodies melt in the sun. When hugs were needed, we gave them. When our coffee mugs were empty, we refilled them. When tears came, we handed tissues. And when laughter rang, we made it ring even louder.

In this industry, it’s truly a blessing to have friends around you. Allies. People you can trust. People you can be real with. People you can share stories with and know that they understand. I cannot express how much I am blessed by my photographer friends. I hate to even catalog them as photographers because, truly, they are simply friends.

We push each other. We encourage each other. We learn from each other. We support each other. And while I learned so many things from the classes at WPPI, I truly felt most blessed by the people at WPPI.

(To see more photos from Vegas, click here.)