THE TIME I DECIDED TO STOP

Just when the social media bandwagon is bursting to full, I've quietly jumped off the back and waved goodbye as it continues barreling down the tracks. I'm like that though.... I'm the girl who purposely finds the quietest corner of the museum while everyone else pushes through the crowds to see what they are 'supposed' to see. I like the quiet corners where you can actually hear yourself think.So, a few weeks ago I quietly walked away from my facebook, twitter and instagram accounts. I'm not saying that all my ideas are brilliant, or that all my decisions are final set in stone until the end of time, and certainly not that they are necessarily right for everyone.... but for now it's been the right thing, for me.I've been wanting to write about it, about my decision, but I've struggled to pinpoint exactly what I've been wanting to say. You know and expect me to say that it has been fantastic not being on there (yes, it definitely has been for me). I think when it comes down to it, I was tired. Tired of shouting and the constant noise, tired of living online, playing the game... tired of constantly thinking about it. Tired of the only way of communicating with my friends being through reading their status updates. Tired of looking around and seeing everyone on their phones (no judgment intended here, I do it too as much as I hate it). Tired of feeling like the whole point of it boiled down to trying to get people to like me, hoping hoping hoping they'd like me. That was high school, and I'm 28 now. I want to move on from that way of thinking. It's time to move on from that, right?But I think when it comes down to it, I realized that really, all I want to do with my work is to make something honest, something that might speak to someone else, that might give them hope or happiness or courage. Not only with my work, but with my life really. I want to give that to the world, rather than spending my time trying to sell something to the world, and that's what all those outlets have mostly become for me.And oh, I've worried about it. I've worried about whether this will hurt my business. I've worried what people will think or say, of course I have. I've worried that without constantly promoting myself on all these things, no one will ever want to hire me again. That people will forget I'm there. And maybe that will happen and I'll have to come back to it at some point, or figure out a way to be on social media in a way that is ok with me. But for now I've got to believe that just because things appear to operate a certain way, that doesn't mean that's the way the world must work....So for now, if you need me, you can still find me in that quiet corner of the museum -- you can come sit with me on the bench and we could look at the art and have a real conversation, face to face, heart to heart. I'd love that :) Yes, this might not work, I might not be successful, but hey I'm going to try. I'll still be updating the blog as regularly as I can with what we're up to with our work and personally, and of course there's still a ton of ways you can get a hold of us too. I will still be checking social media from time to time to make sure I'm not ignoring if someone's trying to talk to me on there, and who knows, maybe I'll have something to share or say at some point. There's really no telling. But honestly you guys, it has felt so good feeling free of all that.This is something I've been thinking about for a long long time, so thanks as always for taking the time to read and to listen. xo, jenn(because a post isn't a post without some images, a few of our own personal snaps from the month of September :) )