You're kidding? 365 days?!?!?!?!!!

Does anyone else remember the 365 self-portrait photo challenge from a few years or more ago?  You know, you take a self-portrait photo every day for 365 days?  In other words a year of taking photos of yourself?  A brilliant idea to get us out from behind the camera and actually in some photos in our albums!  A brilliant idea to get us comfortable in our own skins.  But seriously?  365 days?!  LOL in my large circle of scrapping friends I know of only one of us who actually completed the entire 365 days; and there were a lot of us who gave this challenge a go!

I resisted the challenge at first.  Who am I kidding?  At first?  More like for a loooooong time!!  You see the camera just doesn't lie.  It calls it as it sees it; and I don't like how it sees it LOL!!  Seriously I had avoided being in photos for years.  It was under a great deal of sufferance I attended a professional photo shoot with my family oh about 15+ years ago.  I only did so because my family, ordinarily spread far and wide around the globe, would all be in Melbourne for the first time in years and my parents desperately wanted a group family photo.  Quite possibly that was the last time I stood in front of a camera.  But we all know how much I love a challenge ...

So one day back in September 2007 (good grief was it really that long ago?!) I decided to embark on this 365 day challenge all my friends were raving about.  I did really well for a few months.  Diligently taking photos of myself every day, despite the somewhat mixed results!  After a few months my efforts started to peter out and my interest began to dwindle.  But that was a good thing.  Honestly!  Okay so I didn't last the distance but in the time I worked on the challenge I achieved all I had set out to achieve and then some.  I started to accept my physical image.  How I looked, bad angle or not, was how I looked.  And that was okay!  I started to appear in layouts in my albums.  This was great, I had more 'scrapping fodder'!  I even, over time, became comfortable with other people taking my photo!!  Even if the photo was unflattering (?!) that wasn't the point.  The point was these were photos of me with friends and doing things I wanted to remember and so what did it matter, really, how I looked?  Because that's just it ... the physical is only how I look, its not who I am.  I had accepted my physical self.  This was definitely an occasion worth recording on 12x12.

Accepting Self

products used include: Bazzill and Treasures cardstock; Queen & Co brads and photo anchors; Green Tara, Bella and Prima flowers; American Craft Thickers - Latte, foam, white, and Prancer, chipboard, white; Collections chipboard black & white alpha tiles; Fancy Pants clear acrylic stamps; StazOn pumpkin ink pad; orange Sharpie pen; navy Zig writer; Glossy Accents; and embroidery thread

Would you believe of all the layouts to submit for publishing I submit this one, and of all the layouts I have submitted, this is one of the ones to be picked up?!  LOL!  It was eventually published in the Aussie Reader Gallery of Creating Keepsakes Issue 14.6.  D'oh!!!

By the way, I truly believe the 365 day self-portrait challenge is just as relevant today as it was say, five years ago, and honestly can recommend it to anyone a little or a lot self-conscious in front of the camera.

Anyways for those of you interested in 'following' the 12 steps to Accepting Self here they are (and good luck!) ...

1. acknowledge you may not be the fairest of them all
2. acquire a camera (digital is best)
3. start the 365 days self-portrait challenge
4. days 1 & 2: get a feel for the camera
5. days 3 & 4: brush your hair (a little bit of effort won't hurt!)
6. day 5: stare the camera down ... no longer be intimidated
7. day 6: a shot showing potential (!!) ... allow hope in
8. day 7: accept there IS hope and relax
9. day 8: do your make up and hit the town (don't be afraid to look pretty)
10. day 9: accept you look like the morning after
11. days 10 & 11: google and learn the Serenity Prayer
12. accept you ARE the fairest of them all (on the inside)

How did you go?  What?  You haven't got your camera out yet?  LOL!  When you do, if you do, can I suggest not taking photos of yourself when you first get out of the shower and haven't so much as brushed your hair?  But then again ... that really does show true self acceptance now doesn't it???

PS:  Talking about true self-acceptance ... have I mentioned that I took a nude self-portrait photo?  I know ... shock horror!!!  You can't see 'anything' LOL as its 'just' from the shoulders up but the point is I wasn't wearing any clothes!!!  LOL! Psst ... don't tell anyone!!!