baby steps

i think about this photo a lot. my dad took it very very early in the morning of Feb 7 2013. he and i were boarding a plane to Denver, CO from Omaha, NE. i was going to audition for the singer/songwriter program at CU Denver, a school i was only faintly aware of (read it in a Billboard article lololol), in a city i vaguely knew.

to think about the moment in time this photo captures overwhelms me with emotion. as a young person, i knew i wanted to get out of south dakota, and i wanted to do it doing something i loved (a story and imaginary my parents were instrumental in supporting me in). that smile captured is one of a younger me who felt so excited for the future, so eager to jump in and firmly unafraid.

dont get my wrong, i was nervous as hell. but there is a soft, opulent hope that bubbles from this that I think fondly of and admire the courage i had for that point in my life. i was no longer taking baby steps in foraging my path. for the step i took that day, and the feeling it gave has been as touchstone to gently encourage myself as other parts of my life unfolded. regardless of what would come, i wish i could tell myself then how proud i am.

maybe this note will do..