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Guys, I am lucky. As a small business owner, I don’t have the normal 9 – 5 schedule. I don’t have to be in a certain place for 40 hours a week. I don’t have to count my vacation days or call in when I’m sick. It is up to me to fit it all in, stay on task and never miss a deadline.

I like to consider my schedule flexible, yet consistent. That is why, all winter long, I had strived to get to City Fitness six times a week and always in the morning. It was great! I never had to wait for a bench. My favorite cardio machines were always available and all the dead lifting platforms were free. The gym was essentially empty, mine and one of my favorite places to be!

But winter has come and gone, the weather is nicer and the outdoor photography sessions are being booked one on top of the other! Being busy with what you love is the goal isn’t it?! It is a beautiful thing and I wouldn’t want it any other way!

So, when I found myself at the gym at 6:30pm, I was shocked. It was buzzing with people. As I waited my turn to use the Smith Machine, I didn’t let it frustrate me, (even though I am Type A through and through)! I actually took it as a win! I had spent that entire morning outside taking photos in the best city with the best clients! My afternoon was filled with coffee consultations and phone check-ins. If waiting for a machine at the gym was the worst thing of the day, I am insanely lucky. As I sat down on the Lateral Pull bench to work in an extra set or two, I kept my eyes on the Smith Machine and smiled.

Always keep your eyes on the prize. Never give up your goals. Go after your dreams and do it all!

“What is your new year resolution?”

“I don’t believe in them?”

“Why not?”

“It shouldn’t take the beginning of a New Year to get you to want change or improve. It is just another day…”

We have this conversation every year and every year I think, “Ya… Robert is right.” I shouldn’t just want to be better because 2018 is long gone. I know that I’m not magically going to drink less coffee and sleep better hours. I know that my six pack abs and savings account aren’t going to appear out of thin air. I know that my personal goals and my business goals aren’t going to change over night.  But I also know that I love New Year Resolutions for one reason and one reason only. They are a friendly reminder that I am a person and I can change. I can be better, I can become stronger, I can work towards a goal and I can succeed. That’s right, I can succeed.

When I look back at how much has changed between January 1st 2018 and January 1st 2019, I am proud.

Don’t get me wrong, some of the big things have stayed the same (and I wouldn’t want them to change for the world).  Same City, same business, same house, same coat and same amazing and wonderful boyfriend.  It’s the little things in life that have changed and when you add them all up, they make such a difference.

Now, in order for me to stay accountable, I can’t just write down my New Year Resolutions and think that will work, I need to share it with the world! So here they are! Yael Pachino’s big New Year Resolutions 2019! Let the transformation begin!

Work- Life Balance.

As a small business owner, my business is always on my mind. I can always be doing something to promote myself, to learn more, brand better, engage with my audience more. Basically, my business can sometimes be all consuming. This year, I want to make sure I have a much better Work-Life balance because the people in my life, including myself, deserve my complete and total attention.

Become a morning work-out person.

I love working out, I really do. I have always envied those people who have gotten in a full work out, shower, had a hearty breakfast and make in to work on time. I may work from home, but it is my goal this year to be able to wake up, hit the gym, come home and get to work all before 8am! That way, the rest of the day is focused on my work, my friends, my Robert and myself.

Remember to bring my Reusable Grocery Bags while shopping

When I really think about how awful we treat our environment as a whole, it makes me worried for my future children and my future grandchildren! The least I can do is remember to bring my reusable big bag to the grocery store every week!

Read more.

The most successful people in life read and read a lot. This year, I am joining in on the fun and have become an active member of Sydney Marie Event’s Book Club for Entrepreneur Women… and I am actually going to read the books this time. Already half way through January’s book!

Double the number of weddings I photograph.

I am so proud and grateful for the amazing couples I photographed this past year and I want nothing more than to continue to capture weddings and meet incredible humans. My heart is so full of love and happiness from all the couples I worked with in 2018 and I can only imagine how awesome 2019’s couples will be!

Drink more water.

Self explanatory.

Be more mindful.

In what you may ask? In everything! When it comes to what I say, how I say it and who I say it to. When it comes to what I spend, how I spend and why I am spending it. When it comes to what I eat, what I drink, how much sleep I am getting etc… When I do things with intention and thought, the outcome is always better!

So there you have it guys! My New Year’s Resolution, now… which one of you is going to call me in March and see how I’m holding up?

Let’s hear your Resolutions! Comment below : )

Cheers to the New Year and to this beautiful new beginning!

x0,

Yael

Photo credit: Robert Goldberg : )

One week later: 

As I walked out of the metro station and turned to face DC’s Chinatown, I put my hand on the camera bag that was hanging from my shoulder. My Dad let me borrow his Canon Rebel and I was terrified of loosing it. I started walking down the street to the Starbucks on 7th, right around the corner from WeWorks.  I checked my watch, I was a little early, and I was NEVER early. To me, this meant one thing, I was SUPER excited to be there. As I ordered my customary Grande Soy Chai Latte (something I could never imagine ordering now), an older man, probably early 60’s, with long hair, a funky Hawaiian shirt, a cane and a fedora walked up next to me as we waited for our orders.

“You must be a photographer?” He nodded over to the camera bag on my shoulder.

I laughed. “Not really.” I say as I adjusted the bag strap awkwardly. “I’ve never actually used this camera before. I am about to take my first photography class.”

“That’s great! I love photography!”

“Really? I think I am going to also!” I said as the barista put my latte right in front of me on the counter. I grabbed the drink, muttered a quick thank you to the barista and said goodbye to the older man.

I was feeling pretty good about my new found hobby as I crossed the street to the WeWorks. I saw one other person waiting. Before I had a chance to introduce myself, I heard “Are you guys both waiting for the Photography Class?” I’m Sam.  I will be your teacher!” I turned around and lo and behold look who it is, the older man from the Starbucks. He had the biggest grin on his face as he watched my surprised expression.

He unlocked the door and held it open for us.

“What kind of DSLR do you guys have?” he asked as he turned on the lights and gestured to the conference table.

“What is a DSLR?”  I asked as I pulled out my seat and sat down.

“You must be a beginner” he said with a knowing smiling.

“Is it that obvious?” I carefully took my dad’s camera out of the bag. To be honest, it was the first time I was using any kind of camera, besides my phone and the disposable ones that I absolutely adored back at Jewish Sleep away camp, which totally doesn’t count.

The rest of the class started filtering in behind us “Welcome to photography for beginners. Let’s get started, shall we?” And with that, class began.

One hour later, I walked out of WeWorks. One thing was brilliantly clear, my life had changed forever. I know, it sounds a little dramatic, but it is 100% true. I cannot even tell you what Sam said in that one hour class, I cannot tell you which buttons I pressed or what I photographed that day, but I can tell you that I thank G-d everyday that I found Sam’s class online.

As I walked towards the metro ready to head back to Silver Spring. I pulled out my phone and texted Marisa. “What would you say if I told you I want to be a photographer.” I stepped onto the insanely long escalator, put my phone in my pocket and adjusted the camera bag again and felt a new type of warmth and satisfaction. My adventure began and I didn’t even really know it.

To be continued…

Missed Part One? Check it out here: “How it all Began Part I”

Want to read part III?: Check it out here: “How it all Began Part III”

It’s 2am and I just got back to the one bedroom house in Philadelphia, I have your multi-colored sweater on as I roll my broken, purple suitcase into the living room. I look around, drop the handle and sigh. I am finally home. I thought I would be relieved, it felt like I had been traveling for days…instead, I felt complete and total awe by the adventure that we just went on together. I knew Paris was going to be amazing. I even half expected inspiring, but never did I think it was going to be like this.  With every step we took, every corner we turned and every expresso we sipped, I felt the weight of our every day lives melt off our shoulders and the only thing left was you, me and 100% bliss.

As I sit here in my big bed with the air conditioning you set up running next to me and the artwork you so carefully picked out, hanging across from me, all I can think about is that we did good. After all we have been through over the past few years, we did good. Really good. After one year of long distance, one law school degree, ten months of photo school, two graduations, three grandparents passing, one small business starting, two months of BAR prep, two days of the BAR exam and everything else that comes with being in your mid-20s, we made it through stronger and better than ever… and then we went to Paris.

Running around Paris with you felt like a dream. We spent the entire time learning new things, discovering old treasures and deepening our admiration for one another.  Paris was a reminder of the immensity of your presence in my life. You have become a part of who I am and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Your thirst for knowledge is infectious, your patience is angelic and your wittiness is something that even the biggest Seinfeld fan would approve of. So, as I sit here at 2am, unable to fall asleep, I cannot help but be proud of who you are as a person and who we are as a couple. Thank you for being my better half. The organic Peanut Butter to my Red Delicious Apple. The double espresso to my flaky croissant. The Robert to my Yael.