Featured in Seventeen magazine.

Ok, so I myself didn't make it in Seventeen magazine, but my name did thanks to the stunning actress, Scarlett Johansson. My mom was recently flipping through a recent issue and ran across this page with my name all over it, so she tore it out to give to me.

We both laughed at how ironic it was for my name to be plastered all over the magazine considering I almost worked their once upon a time. Around this time three years ago, I was working in magazine journalism, and I was offered a top editor position with Seventeen. But if you have seen "The Devil Wears Prada", then you would understand a lot of my reasons for turning down the position, similar to why Andy walked away from Runway magazine in the end.

God always amazes me with His timing when He is ready to lead us down a different path. Rewind to 2003. In just a few short years, I was on top of my game. In college at University of Florida, I had been given the award of Best Magazine Student beating out 700 others students in the journalism college. By the time I graduated, I had already worked for Teen People and had writings published in the New York Times. Upon graduation, I had launched and published a magazine, Beautiful Girl, a national Christian girls' beauty magazine which got named in the top 30 of magazines launched in 2003 out of 1,000 other publications. I was regularly interviewing my favorite celebrities, and just when I didn't think life could get much better, next came along the call from Seventeen with an offer to be their new Deputy Editor, just two positions under Editor In Chief.

In considering their offer, I didn't undestand why I had certain hesitations about accepting it, "this is the job every girl would die for," as "Devil" reminds Andy over and over again in the movie. But I tried to ignore my hesitations and still went on to began looking for apartments to live in New York City, praying for God's direction in the situation if I was meant to move to the Big Apple or not. Then wham, in the middle of it all, I get my answer when I get hit with the worst possible news ever. My mom had level 3 breast cancer and she had a rough journey of chemo, radiation and a radical mastectomy ahead to attack it. There was no way I could leave her now. And like any good plot, there was the turning point of drama with Seventeen that made it that much easier to walk away.

So I stayed in Jacksonville, folded Beautiful Girl magazine, and became my mom's caretaker as she battled one of the most difficult challenges in her life. It definitely shook my world up and though I didn't understand God's timing in it all, I clung to His promise that He works for the good of those that love Him. (Romans 8:28)

Looking back now, it's interesting to reflect on how God had to clean my slate and start from scratch in order to lead me to my true purpose in life.

Ever since then, I had been trying to "find" myself and the new career I was meant to explore. But it's funny how the simplist things can put everything into perspective. A friend recently gave me a dish towel that said:

"Life isn't about finding yourself, it's about creating yourself."

I really really loved that quote when I read it. Now with my photography business, half my focus goes to marketing and branding and I constantly have "creating myself" on my mind. Growing up, I always worried so much about what other people thought of me seeking other's approvals for validation, but ever since my adventure with Seventeen, I realized, it's not about finding yourself in the world, it's about creating yourself and presenting that to the world.

When I stopped thinking about what everyone wanted me to be and instead followed my true passions, I finally ended up where I am the most happiest. God has filled my life with a career that brings me more joy than I ever felt in the cut-throat world of journalism. Being a wedding photographer is the last thing I ever imagined myself being, but yet now I can't imagine being more fulfilled and in love with a job than I am with this. It is such an honor to me to be able to use my creative gifts to give something so precious and personal and memorable to couples that brings tears to their eyes. Though I didn't go on to be Most Likely to Suceed in Magazine Journalism, I'm so thankful for my time spent in the publishing world for the foundation it set to help me truly understand the beauty of storytelling and how I'm able to use that in visually documenting the story of each wedding day. And each coffee table album I put together, it's so fun to create because it is almost like giving a couple their own personal keepsake magazine.

God never ceases to amaze me that when we dream, He dreams bigger.

"There is a time for everything, and everything has its special season." Ecclesiastes 3:1