Meet Nicole – A woman that is tiny but SO fierce!  I have been so honored that each year she has been a part of the annual photo project I have – The BE Project.

Each year, we invite our community to come in to the studio and be photographed as well as sit down with me to talk about what word they have chosen for themselves.  Each year, I have the honor of listening to each of these people share their hearts with me.

Nicole, you see, is a little bit of a unique woman – she chose a blank card this year. So, let’s dig into her thoughts a little bit.

“I want it all. Every year I watch these woman come in here and I decided I wanted it all. I want to be strong. I want to be ok with being messy.  I want to be ok with the light and the dark. Last year, I wanted to travel, but that didn’t work out like I thought it would.  I’m teaching now and I love it.  I get to pour into others, service is important to me.  I’m learning it is ok for me to be where I am at.  I didn’t want to choose just one word… I wanted it all.

I believe that I can be all. Maybe that’s super ambitious… but I am in a good place and I am great with my standards.”

If you could go back and talk to Nicole from a year ago, what would you tell her?

“It’s ok to pause. It’s ok to pull up and tread water for a second. It’s ok to be conflicted.  Don’t second guess yourself, go for it.  DON’T apologize for being ambitious or driven. It doesn’t make me hard or masculine. It’s ok to please yourself.  You are holding it down, you bought your own home. Shit happens.  You are doing ok.”

What is something you want to accomplish this year?

“Realistically I want to run a 5k and then a half marathon. Emotionally, I think I would like to maybe open up to the possibility of someone being in my life.”