Jessica | Surfing

I’m passionate about lifestyle photography and Jessica is a passionate snowboarder now living in Okinawa Japan who’s now taking to surfing.  It was a fun and creative session to document.  Jessica may disagree, however I’m grateful that there were no LARGE waves to knock me over while I document Jessica gracefully embracing her new sport.  She also models so this session was a win, win in doing something that she enjoys while also getting lifestyle portraits taken.  Jessica was a gem to work with, I was impressed with her fearlessness in trying new things in new places.  Live LIFE to the fullest should be her motto!

“Be fearless in trying new things, whether they are physical, mental, or emotional, since being afraid can challenge you to go to the next level. – Rita Wilson”

Location: Okinawa, Japan

Questions & Answers:

1.) Tell me about a favorite scene from your favorite movie? My favorite movie scene is from Ice Age. When Sid the sloth and Manfred the mammoth are trying to build themselves shelters. Manfred has a ton of logs and sticks and Sid is pulling one single very small stick. Manfred mocks him about his one stick and Sid tries telling him that with his small stick and highly evolved brain he will make fire. Unfortunately, the night did not go as well as Sid had planned. For a while, Sid tried rubbing his pieces together in hopes of making a fire, but nothing happened. In addition to this, a rainstorm erupted and the rain came down on the sloth. Sid asks Manfred who is resting safely from the storm in his nicely build shelter if he can come inside away from the rain. Manfred replies asking if there is anyone else Sid could annoy, friends, family even including poisonous reptiles. Sid tells Manfred that his family abandoned him. Saying, “they just kinda migrated without me. You should see what they did last year,” said Sid as he rested on one of Manfred’s tusks,” they woke early and tied my hands and feet and they gagged me with a field mouse, barricaded the main door, then covered their tracks, went through water so I’d lose their scent and…well I miss them anyway.” Sid tries to ask Manfred about his family but instead of engaging in conversation Manfred gets up and turns in the opposite direction away from Sid. The storm picks up and turns into giant hail pieces furiously pelting Sid. Sid once again asks Manfred if he can come in the shelter, Manfred doesn’t do or say anything. So Sid hides underneath Manfred’s tail to wait out the storm. I like this scene one because I always found it humorous, and two because it shows that no matter what Sid will find a way to be happy. Even after his family does some pretty awful stuff to him he still says, “I miss them” I think too often we find ourselves in hard places and just give up or become bitter, but Sid continues to see the sunny side no matter what challenges are thrown his way.

2.) What’s the most interesting thing about you we wouldn’t learn from your resume or social media? I love to craft and decorate my home. I am constantly changing the decorations in my home because I like to decorate for every season/holiday. My husband tells me I’m a premature hoarder, he just doesn’t understand that you have to keep all the decorations for the next year!

3.) If money and time were not a factor how would you seek to make a difference in your community? Here in Okinawa, there is no animal shelter. There is a local kill shelter where they take the animals they pick up and they get put down. They have some rescues here but there is no shelter, so if there are not enough volunteers to foster the animals until they get adopted they can’t rescue them. If money and time was not a factor. I would build a nice big shelter so these animals have a place to go, and a place for people to come and look at the animals they could adopt.

4.) What has been the best advice you’ve received or shared with another about LIFE? Life is just a series of chances we do or don’t take. And the people with the least regrets in their lives are the ones that took more of those chances, regardless if they were afraid they’d fail. Because on the other side of chances there is no failure just lessons learned, knowledge gained, and a stronger person.

5.) How long have you been surfing and how did you get started? I’ve only recently started surfing since moving here to Okinawa January 2017. I actually think it’s crazy I haven’t gotten into surfing before now, because even though I grew up in Utah (where during the winter I was snowboarding almost every day) both of my parents grew up surfing in southern California, and that is where we vacationed for several months every single summer. Even after College when I moved to San Diego and almost all of my friends including my now husband surfed regularly, and I still didn’t get into it. I guess it took putting me on a small island off the coast of Japan to get me to try new things!

6.) Name one issue that is a challenge for most women and how do you suggest women work through it? I think a big issue for women is knowing that they ARE enough. I think society has a way of making women feel like they aren’t. You aren’t pretty enough, you aren’t young enough, you aren’t thin enough, you aren’t curvy enough, you aren’t smart enough, you aren’t strong enough, you aren’t healthy enough. There are countless things that are being thrown at us women almost daily, and I don’t know one woman who thinks they are exactly enough the way they are. I personally think the best way overcome this problem is by reminding yourself daily of all the reasons you are enough. Look yourself in the mirror every day and tell yourself you ARE enough.