Several years back, I had a completely different life. I was an IT project manager working for a fortune 1000 company, making fairly good money, and feeling my soul slowly drip away. One of my saving graces was working for a woman named Joni who completely understood my creative side and supported me in so many ways. There were countless days when I would walk into her office, close the door and ask “What the hell am I doing with my life?”
So, while I was acting on the side, Joni was pursuing a love of photography. She has an amazing ability to capture a complete story in a face and also finds the juxtaposition between beauty and darkness But during our “what am I doing with my life” conversations when I would encouraged her to quit and pursue a different path, she would balk, explaining she had three kids and I assume was making probably double what I made and didn’t know how she’d overcome that huge income gap in a fledgling creative career.
When I finally came to her and told her I was quitting my job to move to Chicago and pursue a career in acting and improv she could not have been more supportive. I like to think that my leaving encouraged her to find a way to make photography her career. But the truth is, she’s such an amazing talent, she had no choice.
So while I’m sitting in Hawaii enjoying the weather and the surreal life of living on a cruise ship. My friend Joni is in Ethiopia working with a medical team, photo journaling their work helping women with fistulas. Such an amazing woman. I wanted to introduce the four people who read my blog to her, please take the time to read a bit of her blog and be thankful for the life you lead.