The Album on the Shelf

You can smell the musty scent as you crawl up the attic stairs. Where is that box? 

Oh yes, there it is. It’s been ages since you’ve seen these. You pull open the cardboard box that’s slightly worn from damp air and see the old albums that have been packed away for ages. Pulling out the top one marked “Teen Years”, you open to it only to laugh out loud from seeing yourself at that age. What was I thinking with that hairdo? Look at my best friend at that time…what adventures we shared. I miss the spunk the teen-me had. That family trip camping that went terribly wrong, the graduation party, senior trip…

Doesn’t it make you smile? 

Whenever I get the chance to pull open an album, I feel so warm. Nostalgia is like a blanket that is comforting and safe and a little sad. It’s the feeling of forgotten moments and feelings. It’s the realization that we’ve changed so much without taking stock of the changes. 

In a digital age, we might think that an album is just an extra book on the shelf when we have access to our photos online, but it is so much more. 

An album is the timeless reminder of a person who has lived and grown and had experiences that we will never be again. It’s the pictures we look back at to remind ourselves of our beauty and worth at that stage in our lives.

As Moira Rose once said, “one day you will look at those photos with much kinder eyes and say, “dear god, I was a beautiful thing!””

Boudoir is a moment of growth and confidence in your life. Much like a learning milestone, we learn about ourselves through a moment of vulnerability and personal risk. I want you to remember the moment you first saw yourself through priceless lenses. I want you to open the album one week, 6 months, 30 years down the road and well up with tears of pride and joy at the person you were before and after your session and the years since then. 

I focus so much on your natural beauty because that is where our worth lies. When you look back at these pictures, you won’t want to see that you tried so hard to look like someone else, someone fake. You will want to view yourself. You will want to tell yourself that you are stunning just like that. You will want to hug yourself and say, “I’m proud of you for embracing every unique curve and line on your body and being brave enough to tell the world you’re perfect- just like that.” Trust someone who knows these things 😉

At the appropriate time, I want you to show your daughters and grandaughters or nieces and tell them it’s okay to recognize their worth and remember each physical and emotional milestone. Tell them that they are beautiful now and they will look back with so much love and appreciation someday. 

Take the pictures, get the album, love yourself. 

Sincerely,

A woman just like you-always learning how to love herself