Both writing and photography have been creative outlets to express myself and share my ideas with the world.
Most of my work, whether photography or writing, I choose to publish publicly because I feel like it can not only help me but also others.
I believe we are all in this together. Each one of us has an individual role that contributes to the global society as a whole. Our unique talents and gifts allow us to contribute and inspire the people around us.
Prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic, I shied away from writing about my personal life and focused more on writing about my work. Mainly because I felt this was a place for me to share my professional thoughts and ideas rather than my personal ones. What most of that content lacked was my personality. In order to show personality in your work, you have to be vulnerable and share stories about yourself. Something I have become more comfortable sharing on my website over the years.
During the pandemic, I wanted to open up more about my experiences, especially with spirituality and personal growth and development. It was a natural transition for me to shift my focus more on these experiences and combine them with my digital content and marketing posts.
Looking to 2023, I have big goals that I want to accomplish:
- Challenge myself to write longer and share more personal stories. These do not have to be novels but it will allow me to get more vulnerable in my writing.
- Try and photograph different things that I do not usually take photos of. I love nature and sunsets, but there is so much in the world to see and capture photos of.
- Writing and photography should not replace experiencing something and being present. This is so important. In the past, I would sometimes go to events with the intent of taking pictures or writing — now it’s about being in the moment.
- Participate in at least one writing and photography challenge this year. I started doing two photography challenges last year and loved doing them.
- Take moments to write content that I keep private. Journaling is so important whether you choose to publish it or not. Not everything in my life needs to be shared with the public. My personal content could provide inspiration for public posts on themes and ideas that come up.
- Read more books.
- Take chances, take risks, meet new people, and do more adventures. This will allow me to grow, stay inspired, and learn new things about myself and the world around me.
Over the next few weeks and months, this list will probably evolve and change. That is a good thing since we never know how the year is going to end up.
Joe Gullo