Don’t waste your time on people who don’t understand your work or see your vision. Move on quickly and don’t look back. Invest your precious time in finding your tribe. Surround yourself with people who believe in you but also who you believe in. Shared positive energies and vibrations that elevate each other. These are your people.

I left the fashion industry 9 years ago because I didn’t feel fulfilled, I was depressed, and I didn’t align with the values of the industry. I was not happy making a living off my physical appearance. I was also severely underweight to fit the industry standards back then (about 98 pounds for 5’7, lost my period for a few years) and knew I had to get back to a healthy place. So, I sold all my designer clothing, broke the lease of my apartment, and bought a one-way ticket to Australia. Over there, I worked at a cherry farm then a banana farm. The job was very physical, my health improved a little bit, I had a routine, a job to do every day, I had no pressure to look a certain way and I could escape in my mind for hours while working. It was, in a sense, peaceful with very little stress, but I still felt a deep emptiness. Once my farm work was done, I took a 2-month solo trip to Indonesia, Hawaii and the Canadian Rockies. The Canadian Rockies were where I found my passion for hiking, backpacking and landscape photography. For 3 weeks, I slept on the passenger’s seat of my rental car and photographed the area at the best of my ability. (I had only started photography a few months before). Little did I know that this would be the start of my carreer.   Over the next few years, as my passion for landscape photography grew, my physical and mental health got better. I learned to treat my body with respect and be thankful for it. The emptiness was still there, but would disappear when I would spend time in the mountains and create.   Climbing up a mountain gives you the ‘’illusion’’ to fight for something that’s worth fighting for. When you do it enough times, this illusion becomes a reality and you heal. Creating art gives you the ability to express your deepest emotions and process them. Together, they healed me and still are. (A forever work in progress) For many of us artists, art is our therapy. It is sacred. This is why, at least for me, web3 can be hard to navigate at times. Floor prices, supply, selling out, 1/1s, editions, ROI, utility, airdrops … All of this can sometimes feel a little bit soulless however important to consider if you want to make a living in web3. It is a harsh and conflicting reality. That’s why empathy towards each other is important. You never know what art can mean to someone. It can range from a fun hobby to an absolute survival mechanism. Photography and hiking personally saved my life and I’m sure art saved many lives. Hope you enjoyed this read.