Empower Shel-Shel D Photography's Dream

Every artist has a unique story to why they do what they do and mine is definitely one of a kind. I hope after I tell my story to the world, it will be an eye-opener for those who are one-of-a-kind individuals.

As a little girl in elementary school (second grade), I was diagnosed with ADHD, anxiety, and bipolar depression. Being different made everything as a child 100 percent more difficult for me, from learning, to making friends, and just being a kid in general. I was always bullied and always alone, to the point I would act out at home. I put my parents through hell and back multiple times with all my outbursts and mental breakdowns. Eventually, I got older, and the bipolar depression got worse. I was put on meds to help numb the feelings, but they really don't do much but make me feel like a ghost. I eventually started taking random photos to help with coping through the episodes. Coping only helps so much when everyone around you tells you that you are hopeless, unstable, and not going to make it in life acting the way you act. That was the time I started high school and my depression was horrible. I was always in a suicidal state of mind. That ended up with a trip to Rockford Behavioral Center to be evaluated. At that time my cousin was a nurse on site and pulled me into her office to have a heart to heart with me. The heart to heart worked for a while but then my grades started slipping my senior year and I was told multiple times by school staff I would not be able to walk with my class come graduation. I let that sink in and gave up until one teacher in particular took the time after school to sit one on one with me. We worked after school Monday through Friday to bring my grades up two letters so I could walk on time. Right around May, I was able to walk across the stage as class of 2013! I had a good support system behind me, from family to the few friends I had at the time.

Fast forward to 2016 where I started to spiral down. Between my best friend and I at that time had a total of 6 family members pass that year and most were months apart. I was at a low and very suicidal where I would go for drives and end up speeding and being pulled over on multiple occasions. That opened my eyes and for my birthday that year while recovering from Patellar Tendonitis surgery I decided to buy a professional camera and take online courses to keep my mind occupied since I was out of work and still grieving. I completed the course and started the process to get a Delaware Business License. In the middle of the Covid outbreak, I started my business journey with the support of close family who gave a chance to believe in me. My biggest supporter was my grandmother, who ended up getting very ill and passing away in 2021 a week after my birthday. There are days I really want to throw it all away and quit but I hear her sweet voice in the back of my head telling me to keep proving everyone wrong and prove to myself that I am capable of any and everything. While working 40 plus hours a week Monday through Friday job to coming home and putting my all into a business on my own to prove to myself that a dream can become reality. With this new year approaching, I am determined to expand Shel-Shel D Photography Studio to be able to improve creating clients' dream photo shoot and improving myself as a women small business owner.

This is an emotional journey I am enduring due to all I have been through and who I am as a person. I want my personal experiences and adventures to show others going through similar situations that anything is possible.

'The dream becomes reality'

Shel-Shel D Photography