Catching Up: The Latest Chapter

You may not have visited my website before, but if you had, you'd notice that it has been given a different look. I thought it was time.

In the last 12 months, life has changed dramatically for me. I've had many ups and downs, and while I'd rather not focus on the downs, when you change every aspect of your life all at once, it can be challenging. To be truthful, it's been the hardest time period of my life so far.

That said, when you're deep in the thick of things, you aren't thinking about how you are growing and changing as a person. You just want to get out to the other side. It may sound cliché, but when you go through struggles, you really do gain a new perspective on life, and you start to recognize the patterns you may have been repeating that aren't serving you. We are stronger than we think, I do know that.

Navigating Grief & Loss

While I was trying to navigate the grief and loss of life, love and friendship (still am), I finally picked up a fly fishing rod. I wonder if subconsciously I was waiting for someone to come along and teach me. Suddenly, I realized I didn't have to wait. I didn't grow up with a dad that fished and none of my exes or friends had either. Even if they had, I probably wouldn't have been interested back then. So, like everything else I do in life I decided to just go for it. What's the worst thing that could happen?

Well, only good things started to happen.

I connected with a new friend and we often go out together. I started going out on my own, struggling with untangling lines, tying knots and hooking trees, choosing the wrong fly's and the wrong approach. Those many sessions I have accumulated have been so valuable despite being frustrating.

But, I'm getting better.

Through fly fishing my mental health has improved. I typically get quite anxious and with all of the recent life changes it was in overdrive. Now, the solace of the river completely changes my focus. Similar to taking photos, which I still do quite a bit, I am able to drown out the doubts and fears I have.

Along the way I've learned some things about myself. I've grown into a more capable and confident human being who can do hard things... on my own.

So, I thought I'd start sharing the process with anyone who might be interested. Sharing that it's never too late to start something new and that you don't have to wait for someone to show you. You CAN do it on your own. And as a woman, we face different challenges than men do in this arena. That's something I'm happy to share about in future content.

I hope you'll stick around.

-Renée