Wild Heartbeat Africa: Original images and video my Stephanie Sanders. Music by Walid Sarrouh, music license by PremiumBeat.

Do you ever have an idea you feel passionate and confident about and then find you’re doubting yourself and the idea? At the start of the Summer Creative Support Workshop with Shelly Corbett, I had a vision in my head, but as the weeks progressed, I found myself losing enthusiasm and confidence in what I was doing.

With the encouragement, support, and thoughtful suggestions of my classmates and Shelly, I was able to push through, but I still felt like I was floundering. In the end, and almost tossing in the towel twice, I realized my struggle was that I needed to make a connection between the toy animals of Africa I was photographing and the real wildlife I’d photographed in Kenya and Uganda. I needed to bring the plastic to life.

Once I realized that was the thread to connect my images, my enthusiasm and confidence returned, and I felt happy. There are always new takeaways from Shelly’s workshops, along with some scratching the surface into deeper self-awareness. What I re-learned as a result is to trust myself, build on what I know, and remember to create what makes me happy. I’m not sure I would have completed this project without the support of my peers.

Stephanie (@mousamview)