A decade ago, journalism, writing, photography, and the like weren't even on my radar.
Today, they are in my blood.
Despite having a few years that I would rather not think about, I can't complain about the hand I have been dealt.
While I still have my struggles, today, me on a bad day is still better than me on a good day back then.
Something I like about my job is that it always pushes me.
I get to experience new things and build my skills.
An example of this was my recent time away at the Ponoka Stampede, where I was helping cover the event for one of the Stettler Independent's sister publications.
Before this year, I had always done a "run and gun" style of photography where I either shot hands-free or with a monopod.
This year, instead of shooting hands-free or with the monopod with my big lens, a 150-600mm Sigma Sport, I actually made a point of getting into the arena near the fence line early and setting up my camera and lens on my tripod.
While the tripod limited my mobility, the added stability more than made up for it and I succeeded in getting some of the best rodeo photos I have ever shot, particularly for events down at the chutes.
So, why did I decide to try shooting this way?
It wasn't because of anything I found online or any of the photography magazines I read.
It wasn't because of a tip I received from a more experienced photographer.
Instead, it was because I wanted to try something new.
It was because, that 150-600mm is a heavy lens, and having the tripod take the weight seemed like a good idea.
Also, I wanted to try challenging myself, and after the results I got on the first day of shooting like that, I kept at it.
Did I know it would work?
No, but...
My experience in photography taught me that it likely would.
That's the thing with pretty much everything we do, the more we do it, the more comfortable we are pushing outside of the lines to see what we are really capable of.
I can relate this to my mental health too, but we already knew that that's where this is going, right?
A decade ago, I had no idea what the different parts of a camera were; hell, a decade ago, I didn't know if I would see my next birthday.
But something happened.
I survived one day. Then another. And another.
Like my photography today, I became experienced in dealing with my mental health. I went through a couple of programs in Edmonton, which really helped me regulate moods and emotions.
I learned the basics, then as I began to master those skills, I was able to do more and more different things as coping strategies that had never been taught.
They hadn't been taught, but experience told me that they would likely work.
So, what happens if things don't work?
It doesn't matter whether it's mental health, photography, or any one of 1,000 other topics, a failure is still an experience. It's still learning.
Even the likes of Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison failed more often than they succeeded, and they are responsible for some of the biggest advances in human history.
They learned their way through things.
I spent a lot of the last decade struggling with my mental health, but I learned my way through it; and that learning is not something that would have happened had I ended it.
And you know what?
That in itself is learning.
I'm grateful to have these opportunities to learn and grow.
-Kevin Sabo is the editor of the Stettler Indpendent and a journalist for Black Press Media.
