There is a competition being sponsored by Microsoft and Lenovo called "Name Your Dream Assignment". The winner will get $50,000 and a Lenovo laptop in order to pursue the photography assignment of their dreams. The contest opened March 3rd and is open for voting until April 3rd. Getting the most votes is vital to stay in the contest...on April 3rd the voting closes and only those entries ranked in the top 10 will move on to the second round where portfolios are submitted and judged.
I wasn't going to enter because begging for votes is something I really hate doing. But then I thought...my dream is a good one; an important one. My dream is just as good as any other and just as deserving, isn't it? I am not asking to have a paid vacation (and honestly, some of the entries sound like just that).
So I thought, why not try? What have I got to lose? Nothing! And the experiences I would gain and the impact I could have would be tremendous.
Please, then. Please take a moment to read my proposal and if you believe in me, take a moment to register for the site and vote. Spread the word via blog links, email, phone, and over your back garden fence. :-)
Synopsis: Travel the country (some day the world) to take portraits of everyday women and show how beautiful they are. I want my daughter to see how many kinds of beauty there are. I want your daughters to see that too.
Long Version: I began taking a self-portrait every day in August of 2006 as a challenge to see if I could make it one year. I discovered so much about myself and learned to see beauty in myself I had never acknowledged before, that I continued taking them for a second year.
The confidence I gained in myself as a woman and as a photographer carried into my daily life. I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to take portraits of some other women and show them their own beauty, too.
Having a daughter who is now 13 and who, while lovely, questions her thighs, her teeth, her knees, is heartbreaking. I see and read words from women and girls making self-deprecating comments all the time and it kills me. I do it myself sometimes. We need to stop.
Because despite it all—despite loving my daughter and not wanting her to ever hate her body like she is learning to do, I am not exactly living a good example. I’m so much better than I’ve ever been as far as accepting myself and loving myself, body and soul, but the doubts and self-hating voices still arise. I still have days when I don’t want to see myself in the mirror.
And none of us should ever feel that way.
