Dressember Challenge 2018 | Day 3

This morning I got to spend time in my favorite way: out in a rich-colored, wet, late-Autumn forest, wearing a silky dress and letting my imagination run free while shooting images for later.

When I first went out, there was a thick fog over the bike trail, wafting through the trees. It felt magical, like seeing behind the curtain and entering another world.

These are my favorite days. These are the times I feel most free and alive.

And, as I was thinking about that, I just became so overwhelmingly thankful for all the freedoms I have and so incredibly heartbroken that this freedom is not shared by everyone.

I can go out and wear a fancy dress in the woods to take photos without worry and fear. I don’t have to ask permission, or always be on high alert.

I don’t deserve this.

None of us deserve most of the things we have. And yet, there’s so much talk about the things we deserve. We deserve a vacation, we deserve to be happy, we deserve that raise. On and on it goes. We don’t deserve any of these things. Every little bit is a gift and a blessing.

But if there’s anything we do deserve, it’s basic safety and freedom. Yet there are so many who don’t even have that. And we, who do have more, have an opportunity to change that; to give hope and freedom to the victims who don’t even have freedom and safety in their own bodies.

This is why I was out shooting this morning. The reason I had that incredible, magical morning, the reason I was out where I feel most alive, is to help raise funds to free those who aren’t living free.

And that realization made me feel so blessed, so undeserving of the freedoms I have, so incredibly thankful for this life that I’ve been given, and so completely heartbroken for those who aren’t as lucky.

This is why I create: to bring life to those who need it most.

If you’re willing, please donate to help stop modern slavery and bring freedom to the innocent victims.

Click here to make a donation.

Thank you for your support and willingness to give safety to someone else.