If you ever want to master anything, you have to go through the awkward phase. Even with something as simple as growing your hair, there’s an awkward phase before it fully evolves and blossoms into what you envisioned. The awkward phase has never phased me as much as it could have in regards to outside peer pressure, but everything I do, I have an intense love and passion for so I’m willing to fully immerse myself in the awkward phase.

When I decided to shift my focus from fashion photography to become an artist, the awkward phase was long and extremely painful. It hasn’t ended yet, but it is evolving. The most painful parts is the re-introduction of yourself and the vulnerability of starting something new and publicly failing repeatedly, but if you know what you’re doing is worth it and you truly believe in it, you understand that it’s a process.

People often believe you can only excel in one thing, and if you’re established in one area, most people will try to convince you to “Stop doing that; this one thing is your calling.” which really translates to “I’m only comfortable with the perception I created of you.” So, I am advocating for the awkward phase because its a very quiet and often long phase that others won’t understand from the outside. But once it’s over, you can only be grateful for the technical and intuitive wisdom you gained.