Full time here I come!
Welcome to my very first blog post! AH! How exciting! Let's be real... right about now I am thinking, "What in the world am I going to say in a blog post?" Let's find out shall we.
My name is Jennifer Lewis Kirk and I am a photographer. Wow! What a sentence! You may not know this, but writing the words "I am a photographer" is actually a really big step for a lot of photographers. It's accepting that you are a professional, and that this is a career. Let me share with you a little bit of my journey to get to this moment in June 2021.
In April of 2017, I started a new job at Rodenbaughs Flooring America where I was training to become something I always dreamt of becoming... a design consultant (I watched way too much Fixer Upper). Less than a year into the job, I actually found out I was pregnant with our now son, Samuel. (More on him later) Well, at the time I was working 47 hours a week and every Saturday, so I knew a change was coming. I wanted SO badly to be a stay at home mom, but because of debt that just wasn't an option. So, we come to July 2019 and the Lord brings Samuel into the world at 2:10 am weighing a whopping 9.2 Ibs. He's a big boy and oh so cute! After some time I went back to work, but the blessing was that Rodenbaughs allowed me to take Samuel with me for months. It was such an amazing gift! Then COVID hit the world! We were deemed essential, so I still went to work every day; but Samuel, well, he stayed home with Daddy. This was hard for me because all I really desire is to be home with my little man. Now fast forward to October of 2020, and I think to myself, " ya know, there are a lot of people who do photography as a job and photography is something I really enjoy... I wonder if I could do that?" Now, the entire time I was working I had been trying to figure out a way for me to bring in some income but also to stay home with Samuel. I am a creative person, so I always try to find a job that will allow me to stay home but also be something that I love. That's how I landed on photography. I started taking some classes and taking pictures of some friends and BAM my business was born!
November 2020 is when I officially set up this website and took the plunge that would forever change my life. The Lord blew my mind with how well I was doing and shocked me to my core. I am typically a person who doesn't really believe in myself, so starting my own business has been a huge step for me. Since November, I have been trying to build a business (which I am proud to say is an actually LLC now), and I have been working full time at Rodenbaughs. It has been A LOT to do both and raise a toddler. I really couldn't have done it without my family (Thanks fam!). But, I was getting so busy that my husband and I decided it was time to go full time! So here I am making the big announcement...
I am officially a full time photographer!!!
So far I have been at home full time for 2 weeks. Each morning I wake up thinking I have to get dressed and go to work but nope! Instead I end up looking like a hot mess every day and stay in my pjs 75% of the time... Okay okay maybe it's more like 95% of the time. Honestly, I am really trying to just figure out how to balance all the things that happen at home like laundry, cooking— oh, and keeping my toddler alive— and now running a business... but, when I am just sitting there holding Samuel, I think to myself, "This is why I am doing this... I get to be with him."
Now, all I have to do is wait and see what the Lord has in store for this business of mine, and I am really excited to bring you along with me.
Until next week...
Oh, and thanks for taking the time to read this... it means the world to me!
