Meet Linda Baylis from Sacramento, California!
If you haven’t seen Linda’s SOAR! Video Entry, you must! Linda worked on this video for a week, and this was the first video she’s ever done! She found all the hats, costumes, and the family and neighbors to help with the singing!
Not only is her video inspiring, but Linda is a strong woman with an amazing story. I’m thrilled to introduce her to you today. As part of her SOAR! Scholarship work, she will be posting on Tuesdays at the SOAR! blog. But I wanted all of us here to give her the warmest of welcomes to start!
I asked each of our SOAR! Recipients to make their first blog post around the title/theme of “Beginning Thoughts”. I told the ladies there wasn’t any right or wrong way to do this. The purpose was much deeper than getting something “right”. Throughout different journeys, I’ve found it so valuable to record what I felt like when I started something new. I invite you to do the same this week. Make it a fun exercise by going out and buying your own SOAR! notebook. I love to title my journals. What would you title yours this year? Make your first entry “Beginning Thoughts” and write away. See what comes out of you.
These initial writings will help us celebrate all the steps we took from that first, initial moment.
Beginning Thoughts, by Linda Baylis
My name is Linda Baylis, and I am one of the ‘RECIPIENTS’ of the 2009 SOAR! Scholarship. Last month, together with more than 260 amazing women, I took a leap of faith. I took my hopes and dreams and my vision of a different future and compiled them into a two-minute video. Then I waited. And as I waited, I began to watch.
I watched as a community of women, courageous and inspiring, emerged to support and encourage each other. I watched as more and more entries appeared each day and heard stories of hardship and struggle. There were those that made me cry. There were those that made me laugh. There were those that inspired me by their passion to help others, and those by their creativity. I watched women bravely share their inner selves for all to see. And as I watched I began to wonder.
I began to wonder how someone like me could deserve an opportunity like this. I had so much to be thankful for, so many blessings. Alongside such need, I became overwhelmed. And alongside such talent, I became discouraged. I am not a photographer. I am not an artist. I am simply a mother with a camera and a dream. A dream of a career doing something I love. And a dream of a more balanced life. A dream I am not sure I would even have voiced before learning about this scholarship. A dream I only dared to imagine might come true.
So for me, this was an unbelievable start to the decade. The reality is still sinking in. To think Me Ra and Brian were in my home, sitting on my couch, meeting my children, my husband, and believing in ME. I pinch myself and relive it again. This is more than I expected. This is more than I deserve. Not only have I been given this unbelievable opportunity and some amazing gear, I have had two incredible people come into my life overflowing with excitement and hopes for me. And this is just the beginning.
Along with excitement, this opportunity also comes with a great sense of loss. Since December 8th I have watched you all share your dreams and your hopes and take huge leaps of faith. I have heard stories of loss and of pain I can’t begin to imagine and been inspired by the things you have all overcome. I have come to think of many of you as friends. Together we have been on an emotional roller coaster filled with twists and turns and incredible highs and lows. I know exactly how much each of you has invested in this process and I wish we could all be recipients.
But I truly believe in Me Ra’s vision that is the driving force behind this whole endeavor. To reach out and make a difference in the lives of not just three women, but each and every one of us. Having spent time with her, I have witnessed first hand her amazing heart, her capacity to love, and her ability to inspire and mentor. And OMG… that LAUGH is just simply contagious! I did not want to let her leave. 🙂 While I might have an easier road ahead of me, I am not an ‘only child’ and I know she has great things in store for us all!
Through the announcement you have shared my excitement, you have shared my surprise, and I know while you waited you shared my nerves and anxiety. Through the SOAR! website I have shared your disappointment as you watched something you hoped for so badly seem to slip out of reach. I have been humbled by your ability to reach out with kind words in celebration, support and encouragement, and have watched as you dust yourselves off and continue following your dreams. But now you are not alone. Together, you are force to be reckoned with!
As I begin to regroup and contemplate the path ahead of me I find myself looking back to how this all began. As you are all painfully aware two minutes is not a long time to express your dreams, share your stories, and demonstrate that you have ‘what it takes’. Creativity does not always oblige and technology will most certainly challenge us. For me simply creating this video was an amazing achievement. Somehow all things aligned and for that I am thankful. But what my take on pop culture inspiration failed to achieve, was to show you who I really am and why this opportunity means so much to me. And I think that’s important to address today.
Two years ago I came across a problem I couldn’t control, despite the support and resources available to me. I was diagnosed with a chronic inflammatory form of arthritis that causes swelling and stiffness of the joints. I struggled to complete the simplest of tasks – changing a diaper, driving a car, putting on shoes. I couldn’t even hold a camera. Each day was filled with pain, and I could barely take care of my children.
Learning that I had an incurable disease was the biggest challenge I have ever faced and a difficult period of my life. At a time when I should have been enjoying those fleeting and oh-so-special moments with my new born baby and my sweet toddler, I found myself retreating to a dark place full of fear and negativity and struggling to come to terms with a future different to the one I’d imagined. While I was incredibly thankful I wasn’t dealing with something much worse like cancer, or a sick child, and my condition was treatable, I could not overcome the self pity, bitterness and sense of loss I was experiencing.
So my story of tenacity, when applying for this scholarship, was how I found my way out of this place. How I reclaimed my life and took control of my health, and didn’t just accept conventional approaches. About how the experience has made me a stronger and more confident person determined to live in the moment and make every day count.
Because I feel like I missed a significant part of my boys development I have become fierce about capturing memories – their smiles, their frowns, especially their tantrums! I have become focused on building a career that gives me the flexibility I need to maintain a healthy work – life balance, and over the past year, have been trying to get a small business off the ground to help me achieve this, not as a photographer, but offering album design services to photographers as I develop my own skills and experience. But the dream has always been there. And now it is real.
For me the timing has never been better. 2010 will be an amazing year, and I am excited to SOAR! with you all. While this scholarship is a great opportunity, it also comes with great responsibility and I promise I will not take this lightly. I hope this continues to be a safe place for us to support and motivate, share and learn from each other. I promise to put my own fears aside, to believe in myself as Me Ra and Brian do and to share everything I learn along the way. I am so humbled, grateful and excited to begin this journey – with Me Ra and Brian, Lindsay and Jennifer, the sponsors and mentors and of course, with all of you.
And a final word if you’re still with me – the Sony A330 DSLR totally ROCKS! I can’t wait to learn more! My favorite features so far are the SteadyShot INSIDE and the tilt-mounted LCD screen that make capturing those tempting toddler tantrums oh so much easier! Huge hugs to SONY and huge, hugs to you all!!!
_______________________________
Thank you so much for sharing more of your story Linda!
Will you help me welcome Linda!
xoxo,
Me Ra
Fabulous video, Linda! No wonder you were one of the winners/recipients.
Lisa
Oh Linda congrats! I am so excited to follow you this year and your video was fantastic and so creative! Hearing your story of tenacity hits so close to home for me. I’ve have Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis myself (I’ve had it since the age of 5, I am now 28) and only know too well the ups and downs and struggles that come with a chronic condition. I’ve had the days of waking up and not being able to get out of bed, the days where the medicines side effects where just oh so unberable, the days of wondering if someting with my condition is what caused the loss of our daughter earlier this year, and the days of wondering what is this going to do to my body over time. I am so excited to hear your story of overcoming your worries, your fears, and battling through. If you ever need someone to talk to I’m here. I know where you’ve been and what you’re going through.
Can’t wait to watch you SOAR! and travel along on this journey with you this year. I think big things are going to come for a lot of us in 2010!
Sincerest congrats Linda. Look forward to watching your story. Yay you!
What an incredible story! I too have arthritis along with fibromyalgia, so I am all to familiar with constant, chronic pain. What an inspiring and uplifting story for me personally to read! Thanks so much!!!! I wish you the best of luck and have an awesome time while you soar!!!
Dawn
To God be the glory! What an amazing testimony to God’s goodness and grace. So like Him to take the greatest challenge and adversity in your life, and turn it into such a wonderful portrait of His unconditional love and mercy. Your video was wonderful, your positive outlook on the future, even more so. So happy for your answered prayers. May your dreams become your reality!
Linda, you are a dear and I can’t wait to watch, listen & learn from you. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts, dreams, fears. May you have the balanced life you always dreamed of.
Linda,
So happy for you! What an year you got before you! You Soar Girl!!
Linda, I am so happy to see your accomplishments and happy to rejoice with you. I am currently working on how to express the momentum that has been created for me by SOAR!. But for now I will say that I am so pleased to meet you. I extend a hand from all the SOAR sisters and offer for you to join not only the SOAR sisters fan page on Facebook, but the North East is short a SOAR sister on the inside *wink wink, if you know what I mean, he he * We would love to have all of you join our group.
I hope we can do more connecting! and great job on your video!! LOVED IT!!
I like you already Linda! Thank you for sharing your struggles, it brought back memories of my own scleroderma diagnosis when my youngest was two and my father had just died. I too wondered if I’d ever be able to see them grow much less take care of them. But praise be to God, He has sustained and will continue to as I am now in remission and able to function as a wife, homeschooling mom, and part-time photographer with dreams of my own I’m working to realize. I’m looking forward to your journey and learning all that I can from this wonderful opportunity we have all been given 🙂
~Claudia
Congratulations Linda! I’m so excited to be able to watch your journey in 2010 and get to witness all of these amazing opportunities! Good Luck. We’re all cheering for you 🙂
Linda –
Congrats!!!! You are a gem and I can’t wait to watch you SOAR this year. Your video was awesome. So creative!!!
You have such an inner strength & beauty! It’s great to get to know you and watch you grow this year!
I pray many blessings to you and your family!
Always,
Sara
Welcome Linda! Thank you for sharing your story. I look forward to getting to know you better this year as we follow your journey toward your dream. Congratulations!
LINDA!
Congratulations! I am excited for you and your journey. Your words are lovely. I fully understand the “fierceness” you feel for capturing those fleeting moments.
All the best,
Bekah
Oh how I enjoyed your “Beginning Thoughts”. Thank you! You are a beautiful person and I couldn’t be any more happy for you! We all believe in you and are already so inspired, just as you are today. I adored you on your video and knew you would have the strength for great things! Your “Beginning Thoughts” confirmed that you have what it takes–so BELIEVE IT!!!
Although you feel a tremendous responsibility to help us, please remember that we are all here to help you too. All of our journeys will be a little different, as they should. However, you still have a community of girls here who understand and honor your dreams. We also share the expectation of highs and lows on the road to learning, growth, and creating a whole new life for ourselves. So proud of you! So happy for you! Have fun 🙂
Great first thoughts Linda! 🙂 It is so nice to “meet” you and hear more of your background and get a sense of who you are. I loved your video by the way. 🙂 I’m really happy for you and really looking forward to following along with you this year!
Linda great Beginning Thoughts! I am so excited to watch you Soar!
Woo-Hoo – Linda!!
Love it! Love the video, love your zest for life, love your passion. This opportunity could not have come to a more deserving person. I am so excited to see you walk this path, to share your experiences and learn from you!!!
Congratulations!
Miss Linda Baylis, I am SO happy for you! Again, my congratulations on this well deserved opportunity.
What a beautiful first post! I can’t wait to check in with you each Tuesday.
Warmest wishes to you. xoxo
I loved your video, Linda. What wonderful heartfelt beginning thoughts. You are deserving! Can’t wait to see you SOAR! this year!
Congratulations Linda..I loved your video and now getting to hear a little more about you makes me even more excited to watch your journey.
Linda, Congratulations! I must say I loved your video from the start! So impressed with your heartfelt blog. I’m excited to follow your journey. Cheers!
I love this first post Linda … and am looking forward to seeing your progress. All the best to you.
Congratulations Linda!
I enjoyed your video and appreciate your transparency as we start this new journey together. Baby steps…baby steps!
May God bless you and your family over the next year!!
Beautiful…. simply beautiful!!
I am so excited and so proud to be sharing this journey with you!! You have a beautiful spirit and dream for you future. You have put beautifully into words so much of what I have been feeling. I am amazed at your ability to write so eloquently about every aspect of your journey so far. You are so worthy of this honor, I am humbled to be sharing it with you.
All my Love,
Lindsay
What you so beautifully highlight here, Linda, is that NO ONE is without heartache and struggle. So often, I think, we each can believe that we have the monopoly on hurting and that “no one” knows what it is like to overcome, to struggle, to persist. And yet, I think there are more people out there then we care to admit struggling and overcoming. We each have a story, we each are “deserving” of having our load lightened, our efforts recognized.
You post is inspiring – -thank you for sharing.
Linda, nice to “meet” you! Great post. I recognized your video right away…”oh, the Brady Bunch lady :)” Your confidence and determination are inspiring.
Congratulations Linda! I am excited to witness your journey. I LOVED your video the minute I first saw it on the SOAR website! Your story is amazing. Thank you so much for sharing your life with the rest of us. You have confirmed that I really need to buy that camera! How about I convince my husband of a late Christmas present or better yet a SOAR into 2010 present! Thanks again for sharing!!!
I second and third all the above comments and want to add one of my own: nice writing! Can’t wait to read more!
I am so excited to begin this journey with you! It’s all starting to come together in my mind about how we will all be able to participate in Soaring by following along with you… I’m so excited! Thank you for your willingness to be open and allow all of us into your life.
You’ve totally started!!! Great first post Linda! Plus, I was SO excited to see a picture of you and Mera. When I was watching the winners video announcement… that was one of my thoughts…. please tell me somebody busted out the camera and took pictures. Glad to see that happened! 🙂
Linda – Thank you for sharing so openly and honestly in this first post – it is a very brave and courageous thing you are embarking on, to share your journey and most especially your innermost feelings and struggles…and you are off to a rockin’ great start! Brava!
My best wishes and support.
Lisa
Congrats Linda, you are so deserving and I am so excited to see you SOAR this year! 🙂
hellooooo linda! congratulations!
Congratulations Linda! You are worthy to receive! What a beautiful first post. I am excited to follow your journey this year.
Yay, Linda! Can’t wait to see your journey continue!!
Congratulations Linda! I hope this community feels safe enough for you to share your successes and your mistakes. We need successes for motivation, but we need mistakes to grow, and I have a lot of growing to do so I hope you’ll help me out!
Linda, first of all congrats on being one of the recipients. You have such an amazing journey ahead of you. I am proud to be part of the SOAR sister family with you leading the way along with Jennifer and Lindsay. You have such an incredible humbleness to you and it is inspiring. Can’t wait to see what you can do this year while you take us along with you. Best of everything to you as you follow your dreams. Thank you for letting our dreams follow yours.
Linda, the video is surprisingly expert even if it is your first try. And, it is starring my most favorite people – my son, daughter-in-law and grandboys. You did a great job on your first blog and I hope to follow it every week. I’m very proud of you! I am so looking forward to your new adventure. And, I know that I can follow every step – which will be fun for me.
WOW!!! Thank you all so very much for the amazing welcome and for allowing me to be excited. This is more than I could have hoped for and I am so glad to be part of this inspiring community. For me today was my true ‘leap of faith’ and you have given me the support to know I can SOAR! This is truly the best. I am lost for words (hard to believe after that post huh?) so I’ll end this here, with the hope that I get to connect personally with you all over time. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart, to all of you, to Me Ra & Brian, and to the whole SOAR! team who have made this possible.
Congratulations again to Jennifer and Lindsay. I am so glad we are in this together, and I can’t wait to meet you both soon.
Much love,
Linda
Wow Linda…absolutely wonderful first post! I know Me Ra personally and I have myself been coaching with Fay and Karen for two years…in fact, I was just awarded the Wisdom Connection’s “Babe of the Year Award”! Just wanted to let you know I am out here, somewhere, in support of every step you and ALL of the Soar Sisters are taking in this incredible journey. I hope every Soar applicant continues to channel their inspiration towards their dream every single day, even if it’s just in their own minds to start…I thank you in advance for allowing us all to live this vicariously through you!
Linda, Thank you so much for your thoughtful words. Thank you for sharing your story, your struggle and heart with all of us. Right out of the nest you are SOARING! with beauty,grace and evident gratitude. I want to start by giving you a HUGE “Congratulations!” I and many others are so very excited for you and we are all blessed beyond measure to share in this journey with you and to be apart of MeRa and Brian’s Soar! flock.
I also want to personally thank you. Your story encourages me greatly because it is very close to mine. I was diagnosed with a chronic Osteoarthritis just last year after many years of intense pain. I too understand finding it a struggled to complete the simplest of tasks (even now) and the ache in a moms heart when she feels she is not tending to her little ones the way she wants too. I understand your feeling of missing out on all the little precious moments and needing desperately to capture , savor and appreciate every single one. I am a firm believer in “That, that doesn’t kill you will truly make you stronger.” This is not an easy task, to break through fear and doubt. To push on and never give up hope. To persevere! May you be strengthened in more ways than one in this upcoming year. May your joy overflow and your hope be refreshed and renewed as you embark upon this amazing journey.
Hello Linda,
I loved your video the moment I saw it! You did an awesome job! Congratulations on being one of the SOAR recipients! You are WORTHEY!
Thanks for sharing your story!
I look forward to following you as you FLY!
I am inspired! I am working for the YWCA in Auckland…shared this concept/scholarship with the office today…we would love to be able to offer opportunities like this in the future!
I am so happy to get to know you more, and I’ll look forward to your blog posts on this journey. Your video was very creative. I loved it! I love how thoughtful you are of all of us that are on this journey with you. I can tell that you are a very caring and unselfish person. I can’t wait to see what happens over the next year, CONGRATS!!!!!!!! Lora
Linda,
I am so thrilled I am going to meet you soon! I just loved getting to read this!! and to be honest…I’m pretty much dreading that I have to follow this blog! 😉 I know we’ve said it, but I’m just so honored to be able to be among this group of women. Looking forward to hugging you in person!
Jennifer, you will be great! Just be your beautiful self. I will be cheering you on!
Linda B, so love that accent and can not wait to see your blog~ and looking forward to following your growth, thanks for thinking of us….. God Bless you
I already commented above but I forgot to say….”I LOVE your outfit MeRa!” You are sooo cute!!
Dear Linda, you are going to create so much laughter along the way!! Yep you’re humble, grateful and such a dear one but I have to say you have the cutest, sweetest humor that makes me LOL everytime I read something from you. A beautiful authentic peek into your spirit and heart. I’m looking forward to Tuesdays too, as Crissie said.
I have to give props to Julie too, as an aside. “Babe of the Year” is no small feat amongst The Wisdom Connection gang! And she won some coveted prizes herself. Didn’t see it on your blog girl…okay, so the staff was a little cheezy but oh so much fun! 🙂
This is going to be an outrageous year for many, which I think will include me too. What an honor and a blast to be tagging along! Kanpai Linda! (Japanese for ‘cheers’)
What beautiful Beginning Thoughts, Linda!! Welcome and can’t wait to see how you soar and blossom!
Linda,
I remember watching your video and telling my husband that you are going to be a winner! Your creativity was amazing and I cannot wait to see you SOAR this year! Good luck to you!
CONGRATULATIONS, Linda!!! 🙂 You did it, sista!!! I am eager to watch you SOAR! this year! I loved your video. I always loved the Brady Bunch growing up, and your take on it was superb!!! KUDOS!!! Now, let’s get to work!!! Can’t wait to see how this year develops each and every one of us. Thank you for leading our way!!!! CHEERS to you, Linda. Best wishes to you and your family… 🙂
Linda,
There is something special about you. I immediately liked you in your video. I thought it was very cleverly done. I am so happy that you have overcome your pain and now able to capture all the priceless memories of your children. God bless and I will be cheering for you as you learn to SOAR this year.
What a wonderful video and a most gracious first view of what winning this scholarship means to you. It is obvious you have creativity with that video and your photographs were just awsome. You have been so strong in fighting your health challenges I am sure you will be equally strong and successful in finding your way in this new path! I look forward to hang out watching and learning along side the 3 of you as you SOAR!
I will be praying for you this next year as you jump full force into photography. I also have struggled with chronic pain in my joints over the past 3-4 years… nothing diagnosed and definitely not as serious as what you have went through… but I can relate to how painful it is to edit photos for a long period of time as well as a survive a super long shoot. I hope that your physical pain doesn’t slow you down at all as you pursue your dreams this year. Congratulations Linda!!!!
I’ve known Linda for many years now, and seeing this film and reading her article, only brings home to me and further enforces the knowledge that she is a truly wonderful woman, mother and friend. I’m honoured to call her my friend, and although we don’t see each other from what seems like one decade to another, I know that she’s always there for me and vice versa. I’m looking forward to seeing her SOAR to greater heights. And as we always say “Laugh till the cows come home”! Love you Lindy-Lou! Miss you heaps and am I extremely proud of you xx
What an inspiring story! Props to you, Linda, for digging your heels in the sand and being determined to follow your dreams no matter what! What a great example for your children, to never let circumstances dictate to them the life they will have, but to always choose to live an abundant life and go for it with all your might. I look forward to watching your journey unfold!
Congrats, Linda! Well done, you! Hope you keep SOARING and rocking that camera!
Great site, exactly what I was looking for, I can’t get your RSS feed to work right in google chrome though, is it on my end?