Looking Past The Brokenness

I’ve never been very good at cliques. Even as an adult, walking into a room where everyone already knows everyone makes me want to quietly find the nearest plant and pretend I’m deeply interested in its leaves 😂 Building a business has reminded me just how much relationships matter. Sometimes success really is a little easier when you know people. When your name is familiar. When someone knows someone who opens a door for you. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing…it’s just something I’m learning to navigate.

Networking is hard for me. Sending the message, introducing myself, asking for an opportunity, or simply saying, “Hey, I’m here too,” takes more courage than people probably realize. But I’m doing it anyway.

I’m learning that building Wildflower isn’t only about taking beautiful pictures or creating something I’m proud of. It’s about relationships and showing up consistently enough that people begin to recognize my name and hopefully associate it with something good. There’s another layer to that for me, too. I have a past.

I’ve had breakdowns and seasons where I wasn’t myself, and some people saw pieces of me during the hardest moments of my life. Those moments can leave imprints on people. I understand that. But an imprint isn’t the whole picture. Someone may remember a version of me from a chapter when I was struggling, but that doesn’t mean they know my heart. Only I truly know my heart, and God knows it even better.

I’m learning I don’t have to convince everyone that I’m good, changed, talented, or deserving of a seat at the table. I can simply live it through the way I treat people, run my business, love my family, keep learning, apologize when I need to, and continue growing. Maybe some doors will stay closed because I don’t know the right people. Maybe some people formed an opinion of me before they ever got the chance to know the woman I am today. I’m learning to be okay with that

I believe God has a funny way of placing the right people along our path at exactly the right time. People who mention your name in rooms you’ve never entered. People who give you an opportunity while you’re still proving yourself. People who simply say, “Keep going.” I don’t need to belong to every circle, and I don’t need everyone to understand me. I just want to keep putting Wildflower into the world in a positive way — slowly, genuinely, one connection, one client, one photograph, and one conversation at a time. I’m still learning how to network and how to take up space without feeling like I’m stepping on someone else’s toes. Maybe me as a Wildflower was never supposed to grow inside someone else’s garden anyway. Maybe I’m supposed to keep planting my own and trust God with where it blooms 🌸