i-xaj

[i-xaj]

New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings.

Lao Tzu (via mildauzkalnyte)

[i-xaj]

Sometimes, things happen. Unexpected ones. And it changes your life in an instant. All your prayers, all your problems, and all the things that once bothered you before, all the things that you thought were unsolvable just dissolve and vanish away in an instant like a smoke. You can’t even pinpoint when and where it all happen, or the specific moment or event that marks the change. But for some reason, you know without a doubt that your now standing on the after of before.

cynthia go // The After (via cynthiatingo)

[i-xaj]

Just keep creating. Create to feel better. Create to heal. Create to learn. Create to teach. Create to understand. Create to communicate. Create to be apart of. Create to love. Create to rebuild. Create for yourself. Create for your loved ones. Create for today. Create for the future. Create for your safety. Create for your mental health. Create to help your mind forget about all of the problems of the world. Create for the solutions. Create for something bigger than yourself. Create something you are proud of. Create something they remember you for. Create something as yourself. Create. Create for freedom. Find freedom as you Create. Just keep Creating.

4 my fellow creatives.  (via riffatmatinpoetry)

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05 february 2018 | I.XAJ MEETS

/ @maryamhooq /

Today I meet Maryam. We met almost a year ago at an Islamic Relief event she was hosting. We followed one another on Instagram, but after the event, our communications remained online. In November, Maryam reached out to her Instagram community, offering her photography skill/service to those wanting to collaborate and create fresh new content. Rekindling her love for photography is how we met again, within an offline space, on a cold November evening.

Since our first meet-up, which involved a lot of walking and ended with a hotdog at Burgeri, Maryam has accompanied me to a book launch in December and helped me become confident in front of the camera. Her network has flourished and she’s working with an array of bloggers, alongside her everyday life - working a full-time job and being in LDR (long distance relationship). 

Maryam is the definition of a blossoming creative. She needn’t study photography to engage in it or build a network. Collaborating with her Instagram community and committing time to practising digital photography, Maryam is an upcoming creative with a wealth of talent. I have chosen to feature her as the first individual within my I.XAJ MEETS project as she has allowed me to become confident in front of a camera, and recognise the grind that takes place for those working whilst creating awesome content. 

Today our communications progress to a physical space. Dinner in central London, discussing new ways to collaborate, and documenting the dialogue between myself and an individual embedding herself within her Instagram community as a creative. 

[i-xaj]

Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, shift your energy to what you can create.

Roy T. Bennett (via kerryquotesquotes)

[i-xaj]

Lewis Hackett | @lhackett

[i-xaj]

polaroid aesthetic. 📷 📸

[i-xaj]

[i-xaj]

Just keep creating. Create to feel better. Create to heal. Create to learn. Create to teach. Create to understand. Create to communicate. Create to be apart of. Create to love. Create to rebuild. Create for yourself. Create for your loved ones. Create for today. Create for the future. Create for your safety. Create for your mental health. Create to help your mind forget about all of the problems of the world. Create for the solutions. Create for something bigger than yourself. Create something you are proud of. Create something they remember you for. Create something as yourself. Create. Create for freedom. Find freedom as you Create. Just keep Creating.

4 my fellow creatives.  (via riffatmatinpoetry)

[i-xaj]

I.XAJ MEETS / THE CONCEPT / 

No longer are professionals and amateur’s separate entities – whether they have been educated for years, self-taught or possess an innate skill, creatives are continually self-actualising and diversifying the way we, as an online community, consume content.