Unapologetic

2025 was a year of profound change and the challenges that often accompany it. I left a 23-year career (27 if you include grad school) and transitioned from part-time photography to full-time—a leap of faith that challenged everything I thought I knew about myself and my path. This year taught me hard lessons about authenticity, about the cost of staying in spaces where you can't fully be yourself, and about the courage it takes to make difficult but necessary changes. I learned that growth often looks like loss before it looks like freedom.

For too long, I found myself apologizing—for needing things, for changing, for not fitting into expected molds, for taking up space. As a bigger guy, I realized I've spent much of my life trying to make myself smaller to accommodate others' comfort, saying sorry for being human, for having needs, for evolving. I know I'm not alone in this. So many of us have been trained to shrink, to perform, to apologize for our very existence.

But I have felt something shifting in me that really came to light this year. After spending a significant time reflecting and discerning, I've done something I don't normally do—with the encouragement of my business coach and fellow participants in the coaching program, I've chosen a "word of the year" for 2026. That word is: UNAPOLOGETIC!

The last few years have broken many of us open. From COVID to dealing with a world that feels increasingly unmoored from truth, to relationships fractured by division and fear, to the daily challenge of discerning what's real amid the noise and manipulation—we're all navigating unprecedented chaos. The grief of loss has overshadowed so many opportunities for joy. And yet, maybe that breaking open is exactly what we needed. Maybe it's creating space for something more authentic to emerge.

Living unapologetically doesn't mean being unkind or inconsiderate.

It means I want to stop apologizing for being human—messy, complex, evolving, and enough. It means pursuing work that feeds my soul, even when the path is uncertain.

It means seeking real connection and honesty in my relationships, setting boundaries that protect my well-being, while also choosing authenticity over comfort.

It means being a work-in-progress—growing, changing, getting it wrong and trying again—without the constant burden of shame.

For me, unapologetic living looks like showing up fully in my personal life and my work—creating art that matters, building genuine connections, and trusting my vision. It means being honest in my relationships and making choices based on my values—even when that's uncomfortable or unexpected. It means stumbling, learning, adjusting course, and extending myself the same grace I try to offer others.

I'm not promising to get it right all the time. But I am going to try my damnedest to keep showing up as myself—flawed, seeking, learning, growing. That's the only version of me worth being.

Here’s what that looks like: Living into my passions. Recognizing my shortfalls without needing to always "fix" them. Embracing the unknown future ahead. Building something meaningful and true from all the broken pieces.

All of it, unapologetically.

What's your word for 2026? I'd love to hear it—drop a comment below or send me a message.