I spent my first WPPI switching quickly back and forth between a brave, confident face and crying in my hotel room. The crying-in-my-hotel room part took up more than 50% of my time there. Ok, maybe it was 75%. But who’s counting?

That was 6 years ago. And I still remember how awful I felt, and how I chose to spend my time in Vegas stuck in those feelings.

Maybe this is your first WPPI. Maybe you feel like a little, tiny fish in a big pond OCEAN of photographers. Maybe that makes you feel overwhelmed and slightly discouraged ready to throw in the towel on this dream. I completely get that. But here’s where I want you to listen to me: we are all tiny fish. And that doesn’t matter. At ALL. Your value doesn’t depend (not even in the slightest, my friend) on how many people know you in Vegas this year, or on how many parties you can make it on the list for, or on how many classes you can squeeze into your schedule. Your value, your talent; the things that you bring to this industry WORLD, have nothing to do with conferences, classes or names. Your value is in who you are. Your talent lies in your personal vision. You are the only you there is. Even in a sea of thousands of other photographers. Even when you feel like a little fish. Just keep swimming.

It’s ok if you spend time walking around the MGM alone. It’s ok if you skip classes to decompress. It’s ok to do things your own way, at your own pace. Even in the midst of feeling alone, feeling like you don’t belong… feeling like you want to go home… you are knee-deep in the amazing process of becoming. Don’t let anything take away from that. Your people; the ones who get you – the ones who don’t posture or care about names – the ones who will support you on this journey… those people are there, too. And they are probably feeling overwhelmed and slightly discouraged.

So take the experience and the feelings for what they are: temporary. Soak in the knowledge, enjoy the food, dance it up at some parties. Just don’t spend your time stuck in those negative feelings. Spend your time choosing to be thankful for who you are. The little fish swimmin’ upstream; dancing to the beat of your very own drum.

** And hey, if you’re having trouble getting un-stuck from those feelings, go find Graham. He is so good at helping people get un-stuck. And he’s also really good at buying people drinks (which always helps). He will be the handsome bearded man at the Shootproof booth during trade show hours. **

– a huge thank you to our dear friend Benj for this picture of our family –