Finding "me" again | Personal Post | Charleston South Carolina Wedding Photographer Sarah Houston Photography
8 years ago I was a pretty outgoing person. I loved to laugh, meet new people and just have fun. Then I met someone who took all of that away from me, he broke me...& the girl I once was-died. Abusive relationships do this to you, they rob you of who you are and take away your confidence. They are selfish people that prey on the weak and have no sympathy for ruining peoples lives.
Then the #akpcharmingretreat happened. There are these moments in your life that come at just the right time, this was one of those moments. When Ashton emailed me to speak about Fear, Confidence and Blogging, it terrified me. What was I going to write? How would I connect with these girls when all I wanted to do was hide under the covers instead of being awkward. I wanted to move them to tears, I wanted to change their lives and I wanted to show them that imperfect is just as good as perfect. In our creative industry all you see is the perfect, everything is rosy and sharing the honest, raw, truth isn't one of the things people rally for. I wanted to change that. I am real, I am honest and I am transparent.
The day came for my presentation and I literally felt like I was going to throw up. I wrote how I lost my confidence, how I was in an abusive relationship and how it had robbed me of my light. We all cried and it was such a powerful, healing moment for me...I can honestly say that I came to Charleston as the shell of me, but left whole and full of life again. Those girls, that moment of pure honesty and raw emotion....it helped me find "me" again. For so long I had carried this burden, I was hurt, I was angry and I let it consume me. The moment I shared this with all these wonderful women in the room, my heart and soul felt free.
I didn't know that going in to speak and change others lives that I too would have my life changed....I wish I could have bottled those moments up and kept them forever, to re-live the soul filling moments that bought me to tears and filled my soul, but leaving Charleston I knew- I was leaving healed & that I had found myself again❤️
xoxo
Sarah
p.s- if you are looking for an amazing educational experience that is more personal, check out Ashton Kelley's AKP Retreats! I promise you won't be disappointed and you'll have close friends for life!
