a day in the life of 365

January is a time of reflection, yes. In the days leading up to the New Year, as I wrapped up my 365 project, I heard the sounds of creativity bubbling from those around me as they dipped their toes (maybe for the first time, or maybe again after time away)  into the deep waters of a year long project.

A year long project! eek!

Don't let that freak you out. There is power in this! Strength in beginning something. Trust in going forward into something slightly unknown. Will I finish? Will it fade? Will I find daily inspiration? Will I like what I see? These are all big thoughts that swirl as you click 1/365.

Last year I had all those same thoughts. So I asked myself why I was doing a 365 project. I had never succeeded at such a big project before, in fact, I had fallen off the wagon of a simple 30 days project a year earlier. I thought long and hard about my intentions. What was different? What did I want to see of my life through this project and my lens? What I came up with only made sense to me: if I were able to pick up the phone and call my mother each day to share one thing that happened that day I would. But I can't. So, I did my 365 to celebrate the memory. I know now that this intention is what carried me through.

There is something important and beautiful to remember and be grateful for every. single. day.  
Needless to say, this quickly became my project :: life.

My project kept me grounded on bad days and gave me wings on good days. This was all about moment, right? Staying in the moment has a way of dissipating negativities even though we catch them in freeze frame with our cameras. When you sit with sadness or anger you are in control of ushering it out. When you sit with joy and love you are empowered and radiate it back to others. Photography has this magic to it as well. No one else has your eyes. No one sees the world exactly as you do. That is a beautiful thing!

Now, today, I can think back over my 365 project and find moments where I felt truly alive. And I can use that as my guide for the new adventures I'll begin in 2011. I can look back and also find moments of overwhelm, where I pushed through it anyway. And I will carry that perseverance with me always.

So, good luck and bon voyage to those of you who begin this adventure! Let's all be human today, shall we? Share in the comments your wishes or hopes or fears. Share with us your thoughts from day 1, your insight from past projects, and any words of wisdom you discovered along the way. If you are embarking on a 365 project, please remember that through this journey, you can lean on the sisterhood for support!

If you'd like to get a glimpse into my 365 project, you can view a slideshow of my favorite days here.

.....

There was a moment in the middle of Penn Station; after airports and planes, taxis and luggage, subways and trains... when the cluster overwhelmed me. There were too many directions. All of them unknown yet vaguely familiar. I spun for a minute balancing my tears on the edge of a subway platform. I don't want to forget that. That sheer second right before I found strength, walked directly into the center of the overwhelm and came out the other side.

The only way around it
is through it.

Comments

[Marcie]

You write so beautifully about life's everyday ups and downs..it's overwhelming moments and its joyous ones. I so relate to those words. I'm in my 4th year of posting a daily image...and I've turned my sites- these cold winter days - on what lives within my refrigerator. Here are a couple of recent ones:
http://marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=1413
http://marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=1412
http://marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=1411
http://marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=1409
http://marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=1407

[Jen at Cabin Fever]

Congrats on completing a 365 project! I am just beginning mine and it seems daunting, but I am determined to keep up with it.

What my project is about is creativity and taking a new look at things. I call it "365 Words One Photo at a Time." Where I randomly generate a word every single day and then set off to photograph something that depicts that word.

Check out 365 Words through Photos::::: http://www.only365words.blogspot.com

[justine]

just watched your video, wow what an amazing and inspiring set of photographs, absolutely fantastic.

[Puna]

I'm inspired again. I love that photo. I did a 365 project last year. I mostly completed it, I didn't get disappointed if I didn't shoot one day. It's been very fulfilling and I love the learning. I'll do it again this year. I want to see what is awaits for me ahead!

[Pam]

I just completed Project 365, and decided that I wouldn't be doing it again. But I'm having a hard time giving it up! I've continued to take a picture these first few days of the year, just in case! I can't decide if I want to to continue or maybe do a weekly or monthly. I do feel like I learned so much from it, but there were days when I struggled to take a photo, and suddenly it became work, and not fun.

http://www.sidewalkshoes365.com/

[Clare B]

I lost steam a bit over the Christmas break but I'm beginning again today with more resolve this time.

[gis]

I concluded my first 365 project one month ago (I start on december the 5th).
It was an exceptional experience, and my advice to anyone who is hesitating is just to do it, as I wrote in my set description

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16853210@N05/sets/72157622487312458/

I'm continuing it and learning new things about myself and the world around me every day (and not only about the outside look of things and people). I started alone, being a bit shy, but now that I have seen how good it is, I want to tell everyone to try it.

This is one of my favourites
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16853210@N05/4480495925/" title="365_102 by gis_00, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4022/4480495925_4b5a40c9e1.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="365_102" /></a>

[Jessie]

Congratulations on doing the 365 project. I will try a 52 week and see how I do with that one :) Beautiful post.

[Margaret]

Great recap of your 2010 Project! A great way to focus and improve skills, I recommend a 365 to anyone looking to focus and challenge themselves to grow.

All the best to all, may 2011 be all you want it to be!

[FireMom]

I'm not doing the traditional 365 this year. Instead, I'm going to finish 2011 with 365 photos that I truly love. As I'm a newspaper photographer, I honestly need a day off from my camera from time-to-time. I get camera burnout because of my job. That's why I kept failing 365. I'm pretty sure I can end up with 365 photos I love!

[tara]

Hooray for you, and I'm so happy to read this right now as I embark on my own 365...
http://www.blipfoto.com/view.php?id=891092&month=1&year=2011

[christine]

I just started my first 365 project. I'm not sure what I expect or what will happen but I'm going to try. The last three pics are my first 3 pics in the project:

http://just-travelin-through.blogspot.com/2011/01/christmas-break.html

[jag]

You inspire.
I'm just not there today.
The thought of a 365 scares the bjeezes out of me.
Maybe if I were to start TOMORROW, I could do a 360 and end up right where I started - standing on my own two feet. :-)
Thank you for sharing so much of you with us...
xox

[Jess]

Oh my...that was crazy great!!! Congratulations on such a wonderful accomplishment. The photos were all amazing. I couldn't even look away...even with my dog potentially chewing up an entire pillow in the next room. Very inspiring!

[Stacey]

Absolutely wonderful! I watched the slideshow start to finish and think you may have single-handedly turned me on to the 365 project idea. I feel so inspired about photography as the new year begins, so thanks for contributing to that!

[kristin]

my only advice for all who venture out on a 365 is be gentle with yourself. we all have sick days bad days dark days where taking a photo feels more than forced.... be gentle with you. if you miss a day so what, forgive yourself and keep going, but if you lose heart in it then let it go.
i completed a 365 2 years ago and loved the feeling of accomplishment at the end.
then last year i took it up again and somewhere mid way i could feel it becoming forced and so i decided to abandon it on day 177, a high note, a beautiful day, a good memory, and a pretty picture.
and i was happy with that as well.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14811117@N02/4743919155/in/set-72157622996222869/

[Beth]

As always, your words inspire me.

I decided that this year, the year I turn 30, I would do something to commemorate and live fully in each day, instead of wishing it all away.

I've spent the majority of the last 3+ years wishing days away, hoping that tomorrow will be better, happier. Living for some unknown and unpromised happiness. But this year, I will do my best to find some small piece of happiness every day...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14632491@N07/5313643055/in/set-72157625723852448/

The inspiration for 1/365 was a ring - no beginning, no end.

[Patti A]

I so wish i had the courage to start a project like this.Your pics are beautiful.

[Geneil]

I enjoyed the video of your 365. Some wonderful images there!

I also completed a 365 in 2010. I did a recap here:
http://breezelife.wordpress.com/2011/01/02/catching-my-breath-a-recap-of-2010/

I was not perfect--and November surprisingly was the hardest month of all. I'm happy that I persevered. I certainly learned a lot and I love the record I have of 2010.

[AnnGeeDee]

Yay you!! What a fantastic accomplishment. I just finished my first 365 on Dec 31st, and I'm still debating on continuing another year. I get to defer the decision unitl the end of Jan since I'm taking the Picture Winter class. My goal for the project was to use my camera everyday so I could learn more about photography. I didn't realize how much it would teach me about myself. If you're hesitating, you should try it. It's your project, you can define it however you want. http://www.flickr.com/photos/anngeedee/sets/72157623122903804/

[cindy]

i just completed my first 365 project and although i took photos everyday, i only uploaded 100. i hope to make it 365 this year.

[Diane]

Until I read this, I had no intention whatsoever to do a 365 project. I had considered a weekly one (even though I photograph _something_ nearly each day). I think the fact that photographing every single day would be a requirement might hamper my creativity is what held me back. It's the 4th today, I've just read your words, and I am now inspired to do my own project - life this year. Who cares if I'm just beginning now? I'm going to do it.

[Heather]

I did 365 for the first time this last year, and it was an amazing gift to myself. What I will be doing different is the way I document it. I will be putting it rite into a photobook for blurb on a software they have. I made my one I did last year into a book that I am ordering today and beyond excited about! I think the key is to push yourself, without freaking yourself out. For me personally I missed days and days sometimes, but I picked up where I left off. I am so glad I did not give it up it's up to us to define what it means and looks like for us. It's a gift to ourselves..

[Corinna]

What a beautiful set of photos, Meredith. Thank you for sharing that. I am in the mid-eighties on a 365 project I started on my birthday. It has been an amazing process, one that has made me understand my camera better and is making me consider what a good picture consists of for me. Some days are hard and some days I feel so in the serendipitous flow that it feels like a gift from the photo gods. I guess I'm not far enough along yet to give advice except to say that it is a remarkable project and one worth undertaking, because most of all it encourages me to actually notice the world and all the small moments in my experience of it.

http://www.birdwannawhistle.com/

[Jennifer Gandin Le]

I just wrapped up my Project 365: 2010 as well, and am stunned by how much I learned over the year -- about creativity, yes, but also about myself, my willingness (or lack thereof on some days!) to step out into discomfort in order to express myself, the life I actually live versus the life I think I do, and so much more. It was a rocky year in so many ways and I'm grateful that I captured it in this way.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jennifergandinle/sets/72157623162312064/

And I'm already embarking on Project 365: 2011, knowing that there will be a new face in this year's photos and a whole host of joys and challenges I can only imagine at 32 weeks pregnant. Here goes! Happy travels, everyone!

[Aia]

good luck in your journey! i finished mine in december,a nd it was a great time, both challenging & rewarding!

[Sarah]

WOW. This is the first time I have been here..I don't even know why or how I have never been here before. You have such a way with words. You said everything that I feel about P365. I am almost done with my first one. I started 1.30.10. I will definitely be doing another one because I love it so much. It has really forced me to pick up my camera and use it. I was super slow at uploading everything, so my goal for this year is to stay on top of it a little better and to just keep getting better with my photography.

Oh..and I absolutely love the picture. Its beautiful!

[Jessica]

Wonderful post! Congrats on completing your project. I just started my first 365 project on Saturday. I'm really excited about it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/goaliej54/sets/72157625742922642/

[Lisa]

I just started a Project 365 myself! This is the first time that I really feel I will stick with. I feel inspired, and willing to take it one day at a time. I believe that I have so much to learn from this project! And I'm really excited about it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29380197@N03/sets/72157625725452098/

[Texan Mama]

I've decided to do this because I was extremely motivated and inspired by a friend's 365 project. I started one last year but I think I wasn't in the right frame of mind. I still don't know if I am, but I am really going to try this year to NOT let that stop me.

My problem is that I am doing my absolute best but still I feel my photos kinda stink in comparison to others.

Which is so very stupid, because of course they do. And of course they are better than other peoples. And I fit somewhere in there. And what's the point of comparing anyway? There is a part of me that goes down very very deep, from many years ago, that I have a hard time putting distance between myself and this feeling. I am completely unsatisfied with any progress or growth I make unless I am THE BEST at any particular thing: softball, cooking, photography, etc. Again, my head knows this is stupid but I struggle with looking at my own stuff and seeing the goodness in it. I only can criticize and compare. That, I know, is self-destructive.

I am working on shedding that part of myself. It is hard because it is such a part of myself. I've never known myself without it. But I think it's good to let go of finding the bad in what I do, and be willing to accept the good.

So, here's to 365 days of learning.

http://texan-mama-365-2011.blogspot.com

[Lynette]

Thank you for the inspiration and courage to tackle this project (one more time). This time I am committed to finishing it. 2010 went by in a flash and I have nothing to show for it. I am hoping with this project I will be present in 2011.

[Jeanette Verster]

I'm about to finish my #365.... am really not sure whether I'm going to do it for another year though. I've enjoyed it immensely

[rawqueen]

Wow! Impressive! Congrats to all of you who've been so diligent and persisted with 365 projects! It has been a year of ups and downs. Somehow I tend to remember and reflect the ups al that much more than the downs. I have blogged every day in 2011. lol. So far soooo good. Today I shared about one of my favorite memories from childhood. Those early moments when you are forced to pull down the veil between the real and the make believe. One Love.
http://somethingblu.wordpress.com/2011/01/04/reach-for-the-skystories-from-the-rock/

[PeaceLoveGuac]

I found myself fighting back tears while watching your video. Simply beautiful.

[Ani]

I don't know why, but I felt totally compelled to do this this year (despite my camera's semi-functionality). I will listen to the feeling and see what happens.

My photos so far are quite unspectacular, but maybe I'm just working on finding my groove. At least I've got a loooong time to find it (ha ha!).

[Cristina]

I am going to re-read over time, when I need some inspiration...beautiful!

[Heather]

I also deal with some of the fears that come with the 365 journey (will I fail to stick with my commitment? What if my pictures aren't as good as someone else's?) but I am going to jump in with both feet. Because we will be moving to a liitle 3rd world country and don't really know the internet situation, I am going to have to give myself some flexibility in posting but I can't WAIT to see what amazing opportunities await in the change of scenery. But my one BIG goal for this 365: capture ME. I went through all of 2010's pictures to put together Christmas cards and there were 5 pictures of me. Total. I am going to capture who I am this year so there will be record for the future...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40935634@N08/sets/72157625732392430/

[Miss Giny / Au Pays des Merveilles]

Wow ! Congrats ! Your video is gorgeous !
I'm just beginning mine (http://www.flickr.com/groups/2011-en-photos/)
Thanks for inspiration :)

[Jess]

Thanks for the inspiration! I'm just starting mine. Is flickr the best place to do it? Does it work if you want to sometime have it made into a photobook?

[Anna]

Meredith,
Your 365 video is amazing! So many beautiful and moving captures. Congrats on your accomplishment.

[Nastasia]

I have recently discovered this blog and it is also partly here that I have discovered the project 365 idea.
Congrats on this big accomplishment! And also thank you for creating this post, I am now discovering a lot more blogs of people doing this project and I'm looking forward to following a lot of them.

I have also decided to start my own project and I hope to learn a lot from it!
http://dailyfix365.blogspot.com/

[kelly]

Thanks for the inspiration of this post. I am jumping off the cliff and embarking on this year long journey myself. My first ever 365 project by taking a pic a day by using a randomly generated word. It is called simplify!

http://simplywordsthruphotos.blogspot.com/

[Deirdre]

I really love this photo. It's beautiful. Your reason for your 365 is beautiful too.
I just finished a 365 project. I am not starting up again. I have no problem taking photos every day. I just have problems getting them processed and uploaded. I put a lot of effort into each photo and want more time to work on the wonderful days and not to feel obligated to work on the "meh" days.
My completed 365 set is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/superdewa/sets/72157622923650341/

[Chelsea C]

I just love your view of the project. I never thought of it in terms of the one thing you would want to remember about your day. Just started my project, and I am definitely now going to apply this thought process!

[kelly]

It feels so wonderful to come across this post. I started a 365 project on Jan 1 and am really enjoying the process so far (I know it's early, but I find that carrying my camera everywhere helps me live in the moment more and be more observant of life around me). It helps add distinction to our days. Thank you for your post. I'll keep it on hand if I ever feel overwhelmed by the process. I loved your slideshow, it was full of inspiration!

[Stephanie]

Until reading this, I wasn't sure if I had it in me to do a 365 project. Now, I feel so inspired! I decided I'm going to start it on my 29th birthday (January 13). What better way to fully experience the last year of my 20s? Thanks for the motivation!! :)

[Morgen]

My mom and I decided to do a 365 last year (but we didn't realize that was what it was called). We just decided to take pictures of things that inspired us. When I look back I am amazed at the progress I have made in my photography and my creativity. We are going to continue it this year too. I love the practice.

http://inspiredpointsofview.wordpress.com

[Melissa]

Started my 365 this year! Thanks for the inspiration.

[Roxanne]

This moved me to pieces. Thank you for the inspiration you provide through your own creativity. Your words and photographs are beautiful, and they are inspiring my own creative wanderings. May you continue to create beauty in the world. Thank you again for this!

[Kristin]

Thank you so much for the inspirational post! I am about to begin my own 365 project on my 27th birthday next Tuesday and am very nervous about it! I will definitely keep your words and advice in mind as I begin.

http://kristinmstephensphotography.blogspot.com/