What a year!

Dec 21 • 2021

How’s it going? I’m currently sitting at my kitchen counter after shooting what I hope is my last sponsored post of 2021 (I’m sorry but how do companies always give the craziest holiday deadlines every year!?).

Aaaanywho. I’ve been thinking all month about what I want to write in this end-of-year email to you, and frankly, I haven’t been able to crack the code on what to say. This year has been filled with so many ups and downs that tying it all up into a neat little bow of “pat yourself on the back and reflect on all the good things you’ve accomplished despite the world being in turmoil” just doesn’t feel right. 

What about all the hard things we’ve gone through this year, and what about all the hours spent stressing over [fill in the blank], and what about that weird constant sense of anxiety, and, and, AND…

I could go on.

Despite all of that, here’s one thing that makes me feel really damn good about 2021: this community. 

Truly, you guys are incredible. Your hunger to learn, your drive to be better at your craft, and your interest that you take in all things Foodtography School keeps us going. 

In a time when so much is uncertain, I can always count on scrolling through the #foodtographyschool tag on Instagram and being awestruck by your creativity. I check out our Wednesday Wins on stories and get inspired by everything you’re accomplishing. I pop into our Facebook group and see the tens of threads created every day with not just great questions, but incredibly thoughtful replies. I’m tearing up just thinking about it… like you guys, this is a special, special community. 

I reflect back to when I quit my job in 2014 to try to make my blog “a thing.” I bought myself a desk from Target, splurged on a desktop computer, and (as many of you know) sat down at my little work station and Googled “How to make money on a food blog.” I even took a picture so I’d remember where it all started:  

Sitting there at my desk, I never could’ve imagined the overwhelming number of other people who were in the same boat as I was: creatives who love food and photography with a burning desire to turn their passions into a career (even if they didn’t know exactly how to do it yet 😉). 

And how incredible is it that now we have this community to go through it all together? The accomplishments, the frustrations, the questions, the wins, and even the uncertainty…through it all, we have each other.

So a big thank you from the bottom of my heart, and from all of us at the Foodtography School team for making this year a little brighter. We couldn’t have done it without you.