It’s been 15 months since I stopped drinking, and I’ve been thinking a lot about how different life feels now. Things aren’t perfect, and I still have difficult days, but I’m slowly finding a steadier way of living.
Someone from my past saw me recently and said I look better than I used to. It was a small moment, but it stayed with me. Sometimes change is slow and quiet, and you don’t notice it until someone else does.
I’m taking practical steps with my life, sorting out finances, and waiting to hear back about an application that was acknowledged. Even small bits of progress feel meaningful right now.
Creatively, I’m reconnecting with photography again. A lecturer I had years ago offered to send me a wooden pinhole camera he made. It’s been sitting in his cupboard for twenty years. His kindness means more than I can say, and it’s reminded me that there are still parts of myself worth returning to.
Working with pinhole photography takes me back, when I was doing my Diploma and exploring identity through light, shadow, and quiet reflection. Working on identity and creativity now with my photography is reflecting how I’ve changed. I’m changing as I get older, resilience is key. Life has a way of working itself out, the older I get the stronger I get. I’m looking forward to a creative future. A year ago I wouldn’t have been thinking about it the way I am. I’m being quietly positive, with goals that I’ve set for myself. Not something someone else wants me to be.
I’m not trying to paint everything as perfect. I’m just acknowledging that things are shifting, slowly, and I’m doing my best to keep moving forward.