This year, I attended Blissdom in Grapevine, Texas as a speaker. My session was about shooting portrait photography. First I started by talking about self-portraits, then moved on to shooting men, women and children. I truly enjoyed sharing tips and tricks I have learned and practiced over the years when shooting my own portraits. With all the preparation for my talk, I still found myself a little nervous. But, I can honestly say the feedback I received from attendees after my talk set my mind at ease.

You see, no matter how much you prepare for a public speaking gig, you never really know how well it went without feedback. I appreciated the time people allowed me to speak with them and share what I am most passionate about, because time is precious. Right after my session and days following, I have received multiple messages from people sharing pictures and thoughts about what they learned. That truly warmed my heart. This was one of my best speaking engagements and I walked away from this knowing I was doing what I loved.

The pictures above are only a sampling of the wonderful people I met over the weekend. I had conversations that have changed the way I am thinking about my future and what I need to do to live on purpose. I was challenged to ask if I was living the life I wanted to just being average. I spent time deepening relationships I have had for a few years and making new friends I know will be friends for years to come.

Overall, attending this conference confirmed a lot of questions I had before I went and I am doing more now to live on purpose instead of searching for my purpose. From this day forward, I am not going to live an average life. An average life has no adventure, takes no effort and it is easy to find other people to be average right along with you. For me, life has so much to offer and I know being awesome is what I want for myself and my children. I am glad to know that amazing people I met at Blissdom are in my life to cheer me on. That in itself is a blessing I could not have asked for.