Best of 2020
WELL, HELLO.
We’ve made it to the end of 2020 - the year that felt like a century. The last 12 months have likely shaped all of us in unimaginable + unpredictable ways, for better or worse, but I wanted to take some time to reflect on it and share some of my favorite moments amidst the dystopian hellscape.
I started the year with an absolute bang by hosting a boudoir party that will live on in my mind as one of the best days of my career, where nearly three dozen badass folks came to hang out with me in their lingerie, drink wine, and make friends. I spent the next 12 hours crying from the pure joy of seeing so many beautiful bodies represented + celebrated. For obvious reasons, springtime left me a bit off-kilter, but I had the opportunity to take on an incredible role with Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin as a campaign organizer. It was humbling, powerful, painful, wonderful work that I truly stumbled into, but I am just endlessly thankful for the dynamic team of friends I got to work with.
My summer was speckled with sweet elopements + intimate weddings, often with couples who had to completely uproot their initial plans and adapt them to the world we’re living in. I could not be more proud of the considerate, responsible people that I worked with who made every effort to keep folks safe, whether that meant postponing for next year or reading their vows in the backyard. Though I wasn’t able to take on as many seniors this year, the students that I did work with were just…something else. I say this every year, but I really do think they just keep getting cooler (they also continue to make me feel older).
Summer turned into fall and I slowly became less sweaty under my mask. Conveniently, the mask also helped to hide the many tears I shed during the handful of too-good-to-be-true autumnal weddings I attended. A few small gatherings in the Wisconsin woods, a lil Halloween cemetery visit, lots of tender handwritten vows - fall was too kind to me.
And I mean that in more ways than one, because fall also led me right to my radiant, compassionate, brilliant partner. Holly is sincerely one of the best things to ever happen to me and I am immensely honored to love someone like her. Be prepared to see lots more of her in the future; I’m planning to keep her for a long, long time.
2020 has been a lot of things - most of them relatively terrible - but it has been full of tremendous growth and love and downright queerness. Perhaps my biggest takeaway is just how much I treasure being able to work with LGBTQ+ folks to document their lives + loves. There’s something so sacred and soulful that comes with it, and I’d really like to spend my life soaking up that feeling. I don’t have the highest of hopes for 2021, but what I do know is that I will continue working to foster a safe + welcoming space, trauma-informed practices, and equitable + inclusive representation in the industry. So here’s to 2021 and making it gay as fuck.
Thank you to everyone who continues to make my dream life a reality. Let’s get vaccinated and see each other soon.
