A Thank-You Letter to My Blog

Dear Blog:

You came into my life four years ago today. I want to thank you.

Thank you for giving me a sense of purpose. When I first arrived in Joburg, I didn’t have a job or even a plan. But I always had you. Eventually you became my job and my plan.

Thank you for introducing me to photography. Creating you made me realize that I tell stories much better with words and pictures than I do with words alone. I’m a photographer because of you.

Walking ghost

Thank you for helping me to survive the most difficult times of my life. When I felt like I had nowhere to turn, I turned to you. I clicked “New Post” and started typing.

Thank you for keeping me in South Africa. When life got really bad, I thought about leaving. But I knew that you couldn’t live anywhere else, and I knew that I couldn’t live without you. So I stayed.

Thank you for introducing me to my city. You made me fall in love with Joburg. Now it’s home.

Thank you for introducing me – directly or indirectly – to many of the people I care about most in the world.

Thank you for introducing me to myself. I had no idea who I was before you came along. You gave me a mirror and forced me to look. Now I know what I’m looking at and I love what I see.

2Summers selfie
Photo courtesy of Gareth Pon.

Thanks, Blog. Happy birthday.

Love, Heather

A few announcements:

  1. SandtonPlaces has officially launched and is on sale in bookstores. Come to the first public launch at Exclusive Books in Sandton next Wednesday.
Heather book small

Look, it’s me with a giant book.

  1. “Hazy Blue Hour”, my limited-edition Jozi print, is still for sale. Five prints have sold so far and five are left. If you’re interested, message me through the blog or on Twitter.
Hazy Blue Hour resized
  1. I have a milestone birthday approaching. To celebrate, I’ve helped organise a gig with my favorite band, BCUC, at Curiocity Backpackers in Maboneng on July 5th. You’re all invited.
bcuc number change

Thanks to Anna-Belle at She Said She Said for this beautiful graphic.

Life is good. Thanks to all of you for reading 2Summers over the past four years and following along on my crazy journey. Looking forward to the next four.