Cocktails & Dreams

I was a Cocktails virgin until last night. Before jumping on couches and getting into the whole scientology weirdo realm, I have to say that Tom Cruise looked pretty good back in the day, and could pull off the role of Brian Flannigan with charm, enthusiasm, and invigorating passion for following his dreams.  This movie falls in line with exactly the kind of thinking I've been having.


What do you want to do? 

This seemingly simplistic question has been fogging my brain and encompassing me in every place I go - I can completely relate to Tom Cruise's character.  You want to make the big bucks and have fun doing it.  Easier said than done. But what is it that I want to do? Photography? Photographers are faced with different challenges dependent on their intent - what are you trying to achieve in your shots.  This became the theme of last week's class on discussing composition and black & white photos.  The objective being to make compositional sense of the world.  Assigned with landscape photography and the chaos of nature, I chose the Pell Bridge that connects Jamestown Island to Aquidneck Island and Newport.  In this image I found both chaos in the man made and structure in the bridge itself.

I'll go ahead and throw a little vulnerability in the mix - last week I also got "rejected" from a job I was really hoping to get - it wasn't just a job, it was the start of a career in the marina industry and I completely envisioned making something of myself there while also having the flexibility to continue to live a few weeks in duffles.  My dad, the man of few words, but many inspirational words when the time is right said..."You may think of this as a rejection - I see it as an opportunity to do more of what you want to do.  Refocus, relax, breathe, dream again, refocus and make your list..."  I know he has a point, but man is it hard to just let it go and not dwell on the fact that I am again, jobless.

So now, this week I am faced with the task of refocusing and figuring out what I want to do.  A photographer? Own a sailing school? Teach? Go into real estate? Work for Sail Caribbean? Work in the marina industry?  Get a yacht club job? etc etc etc.  I learned a few things from Cocktails last night that might help for this week's challenge:

• An idea is separate from a vision - you have to have a vision in order to make the idea a reality. 
• In the wise words of writer Claudia Barriga-Larriviere, "The ability to visualize and articulate an end result and bring people around it is what takes a vision from seed to success."
• Sometimes you realize that the people in your life trump everything else.