Me Ra’s popular 2-Day Dallas CONFIDENCE Photography Workshop for Women is coming up quickly. Women of all ages and stages of life come. For over ten years, she and Brian have had the opportunity to give numerous scholarships to specific moms who wouldn’t otherwise have the means to attend this special workshop. But this scholarship isn’t for just any mom. It’s for a photography loving mom who is running on empty. Do you know a mom running on empty? If yes, keep reading!
SCHOLARSHIP for a PHOTOGRAPHY LOVING MOM
On April 22nd & 23rd, Me Ra and Brian will hold their 2-day CONFIDENCE Photography Workshop for women in Dallas. This is an almost sold out workshop! Women are flying in from all over the US for April’s workshop. All levels of photography attend. All women with beautiful hearts.
It’s very common for each workshop to have a mix of total beginners AND paid pros from graduating seniors to young moms to published, paid women photographers to aspiring photo-loving grandmas. Yet, no matter how diverse the group is all the women have one thing in common, they desire solid confidence in their photography. That’s why Me Ra and Brian call this richly packed 2 days, the CONFIDENCE Photography Workshop for women. But not only are there a few spots left to register for, there is also a reserved spot for a special mom. Me Ra and Brian have set aside a special scholarship seat for one woman.
This is a scholarship for a photography loving mom who needs a break in life. Do you know a mom who deserves a weekend getaway filled with photography confidence building, inspiration, creativity and laughter? Do you know a mom running on empty? If yes, keep reading!
QUALIFICATIONS
If you know a MOM who is;
A. Running on Empty
B. Lives near the DFW area or has air mileage to spend
C. Can arrange for a sitter and get the weekend free, starting Friday, April 21st, 7-9pm, for the Meet & Greet through Sunday evening, April 23rd, until about 7pm.
D. Most importantly, is the perfect fit when you hear the words “Scholarship for a Photography Loving Mom”.
Nominate her TODAY!
DEADLINE
Nominations must be in by Tuesday, April 11th at 9pm CST.
We will announce the winner in time for her to jump in and make all the arrangements. So make sure your nominations are all in by Tuesday, 4/11, at 9pm CST. If you are not familiar with this scholarship, read Me Ra’s description below and see what it’s all about! Moms are one of the most beautiful, powerful people in our life. This contest is all about acknowledging their purpose, even when they are Running on Empty (and they sometimes know it least of all).
Note from Me Ra:
“In honor of how wonderful moms are and all that they do and give, Brian and I keep one spot reserved in (almost) every CONFIDENCE workshop for a special mom like YOU! That’s right, you (or she) will get a free pass to the upcoming CONFIDENCE Photography Workshop for women in the Dallas area! This is a $1249 value, wrapped in a weekend of inspiration and creativity. (Please note, we don’t provide room/board and travel.)
To nominate a mom, you must post a comment below telling us about the mom who you think deserves a big break in life! If you are a mom, you’re probably laughing because we ALL deserve a serious break. But the moms we’re looking for are the ones who have had a ridiculous amount of stress in their life whether from trauma or things just not going her way. She is a mom in your life that needs a serious blessing. She needs a serious surprise that gives her empty tank some fuel. If she is a woman that has miscarried, she is still a mom in my mind b/c I know her heart became a mother’s heart the moment she found out she was pregnant. Don’t hesitate to nominate her too.
I’m proud to say that some of our previous winners stepped out on a limb and nominated themselves. Take courage in them and feel free to nominate yourself if you know you need a serious break. Who knows, you may have your house remodeled by Oprah! Yep! A previous winner went on to nominate her family’s story and home. You never know what will happen when you put yourself out there. And you are worth it. You are worthy of all the goodness life has to give. Let Brian and I bless you and your creative spirit with this special scholarship for photography loving mom.”
xoxo,
Me Ra
_________________________________________
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
After the due date, Me Ra’s team will collect all the nominees, have a wonderful committee of former scholarship moms vote, and then announce the winner in the next week on Me Ra’s Facebook page! Choosing one mom is not an easy job. As one said recently, “After reading each story I’d say, ‘I’m voting for HER’.” Each one of you is so deserving.
Nominate the mom who is coming to your heart right now. Nominate her today, and together, let’s turn her day (maybe even life) around!
IMPORTANT
Don’t forget to let her know you’ve nominated her too! If I was a mom nominated I’d love to know my friends were thinking of me whether I won or not! Deadline for ALL nominations is Tuesday, 4/11, at 9pm CST. Nominations MUST be posted as a comment on this blog post. Nominations emailed, posted on other blog posts or FB may be overlooked. Please post all nominees in the comments to this post . Thanks! (Helpful tip: write out your nomination in Word or another writing program, then copy and paste over – just in case.:))
What do past attendees say about the CONFIDENCE Photography Workshop for women? Take a look at Me Ra’s birthday post where over 100 women shared what a difference her CONFIDENCE workshops have made in their life. CLICK HERE to read their comments!
With Mother’s Day and summer coming (can you believe it?!), make this one mom’s best year yet! Imagine all the GREAT photo stories she’ll capture this summer! Nominations are now open!
Excited for you!
Teresa
Workshop Coordinator for MK
p.s. We are always looking for baby and family models! If you live in the DFW area and are interested in more details on how to be one of Me Ra’s workshop models, email me at teresa@fioria.us.
I would like to nominate my wife, Julia Righetti.
Julia is a smart, charismatic, talented woman who has been punching below her weight professionally for a long time. This comes from a mix of compromising on her work location in benefit of my career, and deciding to dedicate time to being with our kids. A few months ago she decided to take a plunge in the world of photography, and it has excited her like few things in the last years. She has been taking classes, and to my layman’s eye her pictures look amazing.
One of those courses was with you, this weekend, at PCU near Austin, TX. She came home raving about how she met this person who shoots exactly how she would like to do it. I then found out about this scholarship opportunity. We will be in Austin until late May, so it would work out perfectly.
In all honesty, she is not running on completely empty, mainly because her newfound passion has been filling her up. This weekend was the first time since our youngest boy was born that she has spent a night away from him, and it is clear to all of us she needs to do this way more often.
I just want to say, kudos to Felipe- and I hope his wife wins! What an amazing team who knows what it means to lift each other up over their own needs. I bet their marriage & family rocks! And of course, this workshop rocks and it will help you all rock life! ? -past attendee ps. I hope to be going back as soon as I can be away from my nursling
I would like to nominate my dear friend, Kari Bradshaw. Kari is such an inspiration to me. Her ready smile, encouraging words and enthusiasm and determination to see the humorous side of life all brighten the world, and beyond that she also donates a significant portion of her time as a volunteer EMT training firefighters for our local department as well as serving as chaplain.
But in spite of her smiles, the past two years have been hard on Kari. I have watched her suffer two pregnancy losses in the past two years, and it has been so painful to lose these little ones who were already so loved. I have seen her not be able to take the time for herself because of her commitment to her three older kids, and I definitely think some time away to recharge her own batteries and pursue something that gives her such joy would be so wonderful! Kari gives so much to everyone but herself; I would love to see her blessed in return.
Catherine is one of the most influential women in my life. She is such a giver and I can’t think of a gal more deserving of a spot at the workshop! She loves photography, and has a talent for capturing things from new perspectives, and one of the first ways this caught my attention was the way she documented her illness. Catherine has struggled with severe food allergies for years, and there were times she couldn’t eat anything but bone broth without experiencing excruciating symptoms. Most digestive problems can’t be captured on camera, but hers manifested in her skin. Her entire body would break out in sores, and have to try to function as her body scabbed over and broke out again. She would periodically share self portraits online, and share what she was going through. She is raw and bold and truly knows how to use photos to convey a story.
I lived with her during this painful time, and what’s interesting, and a testament to her character, is that when I look back on it all, her illness isn’t what I remember. It’s her love. Even in her own suffering, she’s always been a giver. Now, that we’re both a little older and married, it’s beautiful to watch her as a giver with her first child, V. He’s a beautiful, healthy, strong boy that she worked so hard to nourish during her pregnancy, when miraculously her allergies were almost non-existent, and even now that (while much less severe) they’re back. It’s hard to breast feed on such a limited diet. Sometimes it seems like strong baby V is sucking the life out of her! But she continues to search and find new ways to thrive in her situation. Even as a brand new mom she still works as a volunteer for a intensive storytelling ministry, helping others realize their worth. Despite this full plate, she dreams of ways to best help bring in extra income for her family, one of her dreams lies in photography. I believe this opportunity might be just what she needs to be refreshed and replenished and poured into. She is so worth it.
I would like to nominate myself for this workshop. This is something I have wanted to attend for years and have been unable to thus far. God has blessed me with the opportunity to homeschool my 3 boys ages 5, 3 & 2. My husband works a full time job as well as a side job to provide for our family so I may stay home. Luckily, he works for an airline so airfare to attend wouldn’t be an issue. We affectionately term our stage of life as ‘survival mode’ right now where we exhaust every last ounce of energy to make it to the kids bedtime then lay where we fall for a while to catch our breath and power through the rest of the night cleaning up and trying to spend some time together before we fall asleep. It’s exhausting but it’s so worth it, we even tried to complete our family with a 4th child but have sadly had 2 traumatic pregnancy losses in a row, our last one on December 23, 2016. We lost our baby Joshua at just 4 months gestation when I delivered him unexpectedly at home. We were able to include a beautiful photo of our family with his body for cremation so we can be with him, even on this side of Heaven though his little life here was only moments long.
I do get out of the house, I have been a volunteer EMT for the local fire department for 20 years this August as well as an instructor and the department Chaplain. I train with them weekly and respond to traumatic incidences when needed and love being able to invest in and give back to my community in that way.
God has called me for a season to be at home minsitering to my family, my husband, our kids and our home so I don’t get out very often other than training with the Fire Department. With my husband working more than full time, I’m often home alone with the kids and he is exhausted from all his work as well, it’s a lot for him to then manage the kids on his own. Photos are my passion, they bring so much joy to our home, I have them hung on the wall and get them printed in albums and even just recently, magazines that the kids can flip through to see their daily lives in our home and we absolutely love them, yet, I am not very confident or skilled with my camera. I’ve attended women’s photography workshops to try to learn how to get the beautiful pictures of my kids we desire and still struggle using my DSLR camera that I love. My Iphone is how I capture 99% of my photos. I know without the shadow of a doubt, I would have the confidence and skill I desire after attending your workshop to be able to capture the priceless photos of my family we desire to surround ourselves with in our home. This would be such an amazing break for me to invest in myself, my passion, my family and leave my kids with a legacy of memories they can see and touch, everyday, so they never forget.
I’d like to nominate my friend Laura Mallard. I’m not the best with words… I’m not going to even do her justice. Laura has been wanting to attend your workshop for a long time! Knowing Laura and haveing been to to workshops and a model family for one… I absolutely know Laura will gain the confidence she needs to soar. (I should have her hubby and kids nominate her!) She is the heart of her family. Laura is a homeschooling momma of three delightful, unique and talented kids. Each of her children have their own unique personalities and talents and taking to Laura about her kids… you can see why. She loves their differences and is always encouraging them to be a light in this world and to follow their dreams. Although each kid has different passions and pursuits, they are all each others biggest cheerleaders. It is wonderful to witness. Laura takes that ability and applies it to her photography striving to capture what makes each person infont of her camera unique and she makes sure they know she finds each of them special and very loved.
Again… I’m not the best at expressing myself. Laura is an amazing woman. She gives so much to her family and I know they cheer her on everyday just like she cheers them on, but sometimes you need a boost. A boost I KNOW this workshop would give her. Please consider Laura for this scholarship. You won’t regret it.
*Millard
That’s what I get for not proof reading and typing on my phone!
I am nominating myself. I am a stay at home mother of 2, with one more on the way. I have always enjoyed photography and capturing meaningful moments for myself and others. My life has been riddled with trials that I as I have overcome have taught me a great deal and shaped who I am. The beginning of these would have been abuse I endured as a pre-teen and the death of my Dad at 16 years old. After moving out on my own and finishing my high school diploma, I moved on to college. During that time I grew close to a man I thought I would marry but he got in an horrible accident that took his life. After deciding I was done with dating and would never marry I met the man I am now married to. We were both in college, but he graduated before me. We moved and I temporarily gave up on my dream of graduation as I was pregnant with our first child. A few years passes and I gave up most of what I use to love to be a parent. It was a lot harder than I ever imagined it would be. But as I was pregnant with our second I decided that my dreams did not have to go unfulfilled because I had children and a husband. I jumped back into school part time. Slowly over three years and with the birth of my son in the middle, I worked to get my degree. As I was working hard to accomplish this and just after the birth of my son, my best friend overdosed on sleeping pills. I drove up to my home town with my two kids in tow to sit with her in the hospital. She had a stroke while she was waking up and never recovered from it. I helped her family put her to rest. While finishing my degree I also set out to lose weight. I worked hard with my diet and fitness to make a lifestyle change for the better. I am healthier and have more energy and weigh less than I ever have in my adult life. Since doing that I have tried to help inspire people all around me to live healthier lifestyles and have offered the tools to them if they don’t know how. I finally graduated last year in April. Since last year, I have been trying to juggle family, friends, and my love for photography. I have a big heart and always reach out to help those around me. Just this last August I took in two of my friends kids as my own for an unknown amount of time. Her mom was dying from cancer and she needed someone to take her kids while she flew out to take care of her. It ended up being two weeks, and I fell in love with the children I was taking care of. I cried when they went back to their mother. It was an amazing experience that left me wondering how good my parenting skills actually were. It was challenging for me to see firsthand the differences in parenting these children had versus what my own children received from me. I have since decided that all parents do what works for them and their children. This lack of confidence I had in my parenting skills is even more so in my own photography. I have never felt it was good enough, and I notice that is a theme throughout my life. I am working hard to change this belief. At WPPI this year, after listening to Me Ra Koh talk to us in her Keynote I decided that I have traveled the cycle for a Dream enough that I should be able to do it with my own Photography business. I have set out to change that dream into a reality, but for some reason it is one of the scariest things I have ever done. I feel like putting my work and myself out there is exposing myself in ways I never have before. It is hard to push out the nagging negative thoughts, what if I am not good enough, what if they hate what I do. In the midst of trying to find time for creating my business I am also dealing with the common time constraints and struggles every mother has. Currently I am re-potty training a 5 year old that regressed due to medical reasons and potty training a 2 (almost 3) year old, and trying to get all the things in line to get my business off the ground to more than just family and close friends. This pregnancy has also been the most fatiguing one I have yet had. I am tired, worn out, sick of potty training and would love a big break!
I would like to nominate my best friend, Stephanie Tobola!
Steph and I met over 5 years ago when I had just moved to a new town and we ended up as co-workers. I have watched her fearlessly grab life by the horns and enjoy the ride…I watched her graduate college with a degree in social work, get married (at a backyard BBQ because her husband is military and was called up sooner than thought), move to Arkansas (ten hours from the closest family member), begin her career in Early Childhood Education, have two miscarriages, lose her mother-in-law in a sudden accident, have a “real wedding” where everyone could attend and celebrate together, finally give birth to a beautiful girl named Reagan, and now her husband has a new duty assignment in Utah.
Whatever life has thrown at her she has gladly looked upon as an adventure where all the risks are worth it. However, I know lately she is feeling overwhelmed and vulnerable and probably scared (even though she would never admit it). Reagan is just a few months old, Steph left a job she loved after giving birth to focus on Reagan, and to help with the upcoming move to Utah. The move has more moving pieces than an average family move due to it being orchestrated by the military – so much paperwork, and financial juggling, and packing, and more paperwork, and final doctor’s visits. To top it all off this is the farthest either of them will have lived from family, they do not have any friends or family in Utah, and feel as if they are going to have to “start all over again.”
Steph is always the strong one. She is the one her sisters call when life gets rough, she’s the one nieces and nephews crawl on when boo-boos happen, she’s the one who hosts Thanksgiving and Christmas and Easter meals for everyone in her husbands Unit that can’t go home for a holiday (I’ve seen her pack 30 people into her home so no one is alone for a holday!), she’s the one people call at 3 AM just to talk, she’s the one who will go to the hospital and sit with you when you’re ill and have no one to help you, she’s the one who cooks caseroles when you just had a baby, AND she makes EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON’S Birthday cake for them on their birthday. I kid you not, if she knows you, and knows when your birthday is, you’re getting a cake – homade, decorated, in your favorite flavor. If she had never become a mom to children, she would have easily been mom to an entire community. All the singles in her husband’s Unit come to her for advice – it’s adorable to see big guys come in and shoot the bull with her husband, then she fixes them coffee and they sit at the dining room table to get advice from her.
That’s Steph. She’s got this great big heart and loves everyone. But right now with the move to Utah, leaving her day job, and having Reagan – she’s feeling the pressure. Since Steph loves to take photos of Reagan with her little camera and phone to post on FB – this would be an excellent way for her to step it up a notch. Now, from Utah, she can takes photos to share with all her friends and family and build a wonderful little photo album for Reagan (and all the other babies she has) along the way. She could absolutely use this break from all the things weighing in her mind adn relax with some wonderful women before finalizing the move to Utah.
I am nominating my amazing mother, Rosemarie Wallace. I’m a senior in high school, but I saw this opportunity and immediately thought of her. For my whole life she’s supported me and given up so much so that I could succeed. As a stay-at-home mom, she turned cardboard boxes into rockets and classrooms, and she turned our backyard into Neverland. She took me to any museum I wanted to go to, and took me to the pet store to play with puppies whenever I was sad. She made me feel loved and valued and would drop anything to let me pursue any passion I wanted.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve watched my mom pursue her own passion of photography. I can feel the love that she puts into all of her photos, and I see how her eyes light up when she talks about her work. After I’ve watched her nuture me and care for me for eighteen years, it fills me with joy to see her taking advantage of her gift. She sacrificed so much for me, and now that I have this opportunity to give something back to her, I definitely I want to nominate my mother for this trip.
Thank you so much for all these beautiful nominations. You should have all received a personal email from me. Let me know if you didn’t get it. Our wonderful former ROE recipients are reading your nominations. We hope to have an answer for you all soon!
Have a wonderful Easter weekend if we don’t talk before!
Much, much love!
Me Ra