Goodbye 2017, hello 2018

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  Paris – Diamonds

So here we are. At last, 2017 is ending, and leaves room for 2018. Though I’ve never been a huge fan of New Year festivities (I must confess every year, New Year looks a bit like the ultimate 10 km of a long marathon of gluttony, while the Epiphany six days later could be thought as a kind of warm-down session, I guess), it is still an important milestone in life. It’s a day when you’re offered the opportunity about what you’ve done in the past year, and what you want to do in the year that is ahead.

2017 has been quite a mixed year for me. On the positive side, I’ve started my professional life at last (though I already had had more than a year of professional experience before, I only got my degree in September 2016). I feel I’ve continued to progress in what I consider my number 1 passion in life right now, photography (number 2 is Lyon). I’ve also learned a lot of things professionally, and though I still don’t really get what I want to do with my life, I guess I’m beginning to understand things better and at last getting a bit humbler. Last, I’ve met some wonderful people, mostly at work, but also in my personal life.

On the negative side, well, I’ve lost the person I cared the most for. Not that she died (God, that would be awful, and I hope I’ll never hear such news). But after two years together, we parted. I thought she was kind of my twin, my soulmate. It was hard. Very hard. It shook me entirely, and even today, I’m not close to how happy I was in the beginning of 2017. I’m thankful for the two years we spent together. I loved that clever and strong-minded tiny bit of a woman as much as my tiny bit of heart could, and I’m pretty sure she’ll do great things, or at least be a great person, which she’s always been.

Not surprisingly, this has put me in quite a turmoil. And it hurt me all the more since it forced me to think about myself, which is something I’ve run away from for a long time. I must confess I still feel lost. This is the main reason why I’m not writing a lot these days, nor doing much photography stuff.

So what do I have in mind for 2018 ? Well, the first thing I have to do is pursue my learnings in photography. As said previously, this is my number 1 passion, and I want to become better this year, have new challenges, and take more qualitative pictures. Professionally, I want to know more about statistics, data analysis and programmatic. Even though this is not my education, I’m more and more interested in these fields. And regarding the paths I want to take for my future life, I’ve decided that I’d now look for professional opportunities in Lyon more carefully. I think I’m a person that needs close friends and family around, and I’m really missing Lyon too much. Plus, I really can’t stand Paris any longer (too much pressure, anxiety, and no opportunity to build a family life here). Last but not least, I’ll get my driving license this year.

In the meantime, I wish you all a very happy new year. I’ve selected the 11 of my favorite pictures this year for you. I hope my selection next year will be even better ! Happy New Year !!!