The SToRy Of Me
By Natalie Nicole
MY JOB IS TO HELP TELL THE GREATEST STORY OF YOUR LIFE
— YOUR WEDDING
So it’s only fair that I open up the pages of my own story a bit and let you have a peek inside.
If this were a real book, the pages would be worn and browned from the sun with countless creases and smudges from the fingertips of the people I love—proof of a life well-lived. But for now, this will have to do.
“The love letters I write are kept in albums, dog-eared from time and sprawled out on coffee tables in the center of the most loved room in the house—volumes written in images and not words.”
— Natalie Nicole
CHAPTER ONE
PloT
AN EXCITED, TENACIOUS TEENAGE GIRL ENROLLS IN A PRE-MED PROGRAM,
positive she’ll spend the rest of her days diagnosing and treating sick and injured patients. Three years into the program she scrubs into a surgery that changes everything (and can never, will never, be forgotten).
After some serious consideration, she decides to switch things up and pursue a degree in landscape architecture (a much less…disturbing pursuit, shall we say).
Instantly, she falls in love with all things creative: Design, use of colors, playing with light and shadows—all of it. And she realizes that in a way, using and sharing her creativity with the world is a method of saving people (from the dull and mundane). If nothing else, it’s a way of helping herself and others see just how beautiful everyday moments are.
She falls in love with all things creative
CHAPTER TWO
Sub ploT
ONE DAY, WITHOUT REALLY THINKING ABOUT IT,
she picks up a camera and starts taking photos. Then she takes a few more, photographs a wedding, and falls head over boots in love with the feeling of seeing life through a lens.
The parallels between architecture and photography start to come into focus. The same skills that make for an incredible architect make for a well-versed, dynamic photographer. Something clicks, and the idea that she almost lived her life doing literally anything else seems unthinkable.
She picks up a camera
CHAPTER THREE
Plot twist
SHE ENDS UP WITH JUST AS MANY HOURS
as most Ph.D. candidates (not an exaggeration) and is the most over-educated and under-degreed person you’ll ever meet. But she’s happy, in a way no degree or job or title ever could’ve made her.
But she’s happy
FINAL CHAPTER
Happy ENDING
NOW SHE LIVES WITH HER SOULMATE
—a 10-year-old cocker spaniel made up of four paws and perfection. And she spends her weekends photographing the stories of cool-ass couples who aren’t afraid to get a little weird, find their edge, and unapologetically be themselves.
