Bahamas | A Much Needed Trip for My Workaholic Self

February 1, 2019

When you are running your own business, it can become easy to be burned out and exhausted. I suffer from workaholism and can find myself never separating from my phone or laptop, answering emails and texts from clients at all hours of the day, and working 60-70 hours a week. I also suffer from not showing myself any grace or allowing myself to feel happy for my successes. I am constantly chasing the next goal on my list, never feeling like what I have accomplished is good enough. Some on the outside call me a go getter, a entrepreneur or someone who is really driven. To me its anxiety, the fear of loosing it all, or missing out on some opportunity because I slacked off. Workaholism is a real problem for your mental and physical wellbeing. Also the relationships around you can and will eventually will suffer.

Last year I traveled ALOT. Brandon came with me at times, my sister came with me at times, or I went alone. 90% of every trip away from home I had last year was for work. Yes I would take off days before and after the wedding to enjoy myself but still the focus of the trip was my clients and their special day. The stress of capturing a wedding never allowed me to relax. I get nervous before every wedding I do, even though I’ve done hundreds. I go through the day in my mind over and over, trying to envision every possible scenario. Now I’m not saying I don’t have the best time traveling for weddings, I LOVE it. But I never truly unplug or connect with the people who are traveling with me. So for this reason, Brandon and I planned a vacation to the Bahamas that was just for us. We opted for all inclusive so we wouldn’t have to do much thinking or cooking (typically we rent airbnbs and grocery shop and cook a lot of our meals.) I did not take my camera but instead just used my iPhone for all the photos of this post. We over-ate, we over-drank at times (hehe) and we truly just focused on each other. This could not have been a better decision for our relationship. We came home from this trip feeling more connected than ever.

So I encourage you, if you feel like you are working yourself to the bone, are feeling overly stressed and disconnected from those you love, plan a little getaway with your significant other. Even if its a staycation, unplug for a couple days and truly spend time together. It is so worth it and I came back so recharged and ready to dive back into being the best wedding photographer I can be. Because if I am not in a good place mentally, my business and my relationships will suffer, so self love and your mental health should always come first.

We flew Delta and stayed at the Melia All Inclusive in Nassau. We booked the hotel on black Friday through Melia’s website and got a killer deal! We also used points on my Chase Sapphire Card from all those destination weddings I booked to book our flights.

It was windy and rainy on certain days due to it being their winter, but I honestly did not care. 🙂

We went kayaking and snorkeling. My favorite part about the Bahamas is how colorful it is! Every building is turquoise or pink!

Such a dream!

They just built a new hotel, The Baha Mar, next to where we were staying and they had THE BEST jazz bar. The singer Clarissa was out of this world, as were the drinks.

We did an excursion where we snorkeled and also did a new thing called bubble submarines. Its a cross between an underwater moped and scuba diving. It was really bizarre but so much fun!

Our last day on the island we visited Atlantis. Our other excursions kept getting cancelled because of the bad weather so we decided to just go to this resort in case the weather was bad again. It was perfect! Such a beautiful place. It reminded me of a huge beautiful theme park on the beach.