Dear November
A letter written to you Dear Correspondent as a glimpse into my life at the end of November.
November 23rd, 2024
I just rediscovered you, Dear Correspondent. It’s been months since I’ve written anything on my blog. I kept up the letter writing through the month of April and then stopped.
Stopped right after I found the house.
My house.
The one I purchased.
It seems fitting that I left off in that moment because truly since then my life has been racing ahead like a runaway train. Too much has been happening and too little record has been made of it all. I have these giant plans of what I want to do and suddenly it’s months later with nothing having taken place.
Which isn’t completely true.
So many things have been happening. I mean…I bought a house. Holy cow.
I bought a house. I still can’t believe those words that are coming out of my mouth. Even four months after closing it still feels like a dream. A beautiful dream that I never want to wake up from. But before I get into that story. I want to do a little recap of all the months I’ve missed.
The summer months were filled with hot weather, parties, and long work hours in preparation for our annual gala.
At the end of May, my second contemporary piece of original choreograph debuted at my studio’s end of year performance. As much as I am a photographer, dance will always be a huge part of my creative journey. I wonder how I’ll incorporate it in the future.
I also had the opportunity to have six of my images included in a gallery exhibition at a local gallery. It’s incredible to see images in their final intended form as prints.
These were months of change and newness in life. I was promoted at work and changed from part-time to full-time.
No to mention purchasing my first house at the end of July.
I must admit I did not get much done at work that day. While I have much more dignified photos of me from closing, this selfie fully captures the moment of amazement and utter terror at the thought of buying a house. The terror comes from what I’m planning on doing with it… more on that soon.
Fall has consisted of renovations, rodeos, and adventures in Europe.
As a reminder mostly to myself more than anyone, momentum is easiest to keep going rather than start up again. Be careful how much time you spend away from chasing your dreams. It’s so much harder to get back into it rather than keep going.
I went to England for the Promoting Passion Convention and continued on to Scotland for a much needed vacation. I shot so many photoshoots which I have yet to edit still to this day. In fact, I can hardly remember when I created my last image. I must have been back in late spring. This year has seen a departure from creation, but a pursuit of some long seated dreams.
In October, I had the opportunity to perform Dracula with a local Ballet Company and my parents got a new dalmatian puppy.
Oh and as far as side plots go, I went to a NASCAR race of all things and had an absolute blast.
And that brings us to this month.
The cold weather has set in. The fall colors have appeared. And I am on the count down for a huge announcement. My future is at my finger tips. I am actively chasing my dreams and I am terrified.
But here is to surrender of fear to the courage of knowing that I am capable of incredible things.
I’ll keep you updated on all the exciting things and look forward to continuing on with the Dear Correspondent series. Life is worth documenting and stories are worth sharing.
Until Next Time,
Lillian Merritt
