Non-Career Advice is a series that asks people - young, old, and in a range of occupations - for words of wisdom unrelated to work, career-building, dollars, or getting ahead.
Emily Johnston / Artist + Photographer
Age: 32
Embrace what's working — and give yourself a break. "I had a sort of identity crisis last year. It was a time of a lot of uncertainty — I was asking myself a lot of questions about what I was doing, what I wanted to be doing. I was putting a lot of pressure on myself in general. Then, out of nowhere, I remember having this amazing series of conversations over coffee with different women who were all really passionate about finding their own path, and who were determined not to adhere to a pre-scripted vision of what life is supposed to look like. At one point in the middle of this, I noticed that all of these women — every one — had dirty hair. I thought, here's this beautiful, inspiring girl who has her shit together, and her hair is a mess. It was an epiphany. It made me realize that I could let go of some of the pressure I was putting on myself. That my perfectionism wasn't necessarily serving me. That I can embrace what's working for me — and what I'm doing well — and not get caught up in other things that don't matter as much."
Photo by Jack Sebastian via Emily's Instagram (one of my favorite feeds).
As a new(ish) mom this rings especially true. Such a good reminder for wherever you are in your life!
ReplyDeleteThis resonates so much. And wow - her photography is stunning!
ReplyDeleteLife lesson comes in various forms - in her case, messy hair!
ReplyDeleteI love her photography.
beautiful. love this. love this series!!
ReplyDeleteLove this, so very inspiring.
ReplyDeleteShoko this is my favourite series and it's only just begun, I hope you definitely continue it :)
ReplyDeleteWOW. I really love this series. Very inspiring, very true. And Emily's pictures are so amazing!
ReplyDeleteNon-career advice. I had to do a double take upon first reading that. Beautiful, and what a great idea for a series!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous words, beautiful lady.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all your wonderful comments! Emily's spirit is as beautiful as her work — I'm so happy to have her as the first guest for Non-Career Advice! More to come...
ReplyDeleteI haven't had a haircut in almost 3 years now, and these days I'm rocking really long, kind of wavy, pretty frizzy, split-ended hair. One of my best friends has an intense dislike for my unkempt mane--as an undergrad I had regular appointments with a stylist--but I wear my hair as a badge of pride. This advice rings SO TRUE! Thank you so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYa, I need to ditch some of that perfectionism too! It's a constant battle for me :)
ReplyDeleteoh wow, this is so relevant to how I've been feeling lately too. I went through the exact same thing & I to realised its okay to miss a hair wash :P
ReplyDeleteSo right on!
ReplyDeleteHooray! I love the idea behind this series, Shoko. xx
ReplyDeleteI do this too but with my nails, haha! They aren't dirty, but are just generally unkempt. Every once in a while I'll break down and have a mani/pedi night (which means that I groom, but don't paint). Thanks for helping me feel better about this. :-)
ReplyDeleteI do this too but with my nails, haha! They aren't dirty, but are just generally unkempt. Every once in a while I'll break down and have a mani/pedi night (which means that I groom, but don't paint). Thanks for helping me feel better about this. :-)
ReplyDelete