I met up with Mel in LA on the recommendation of my brother. She was his roommate in Madison, WI, back in the day, but she left Wisconsin years ago to attend film school out west. As we started talking, we realized that more than having my brother in common, we share an affinity for taking big leaps and hoping things work out.

Mel settled in Seattle, but she soon realized working in a coffee shop and going to school wasn't giving her the experience she wanted. So she took the first of many big leaps and left the coffee job. The next day, she was offered a one-month position as a production assistant—without pay. She took it, worked as hard as possible, and was promoted. Eventually she got paid and got to stay on after the month was up. She helped a friend out by acting in a small part but quickly fell into the producer role on set. She has been traveling back and forth between LA and Seattle ever since.

Early on, she met Mark, who became a friend in the industry. They bonded with over their mutual love of music (both had been in bands) and film, and eventually they made a movie together. After that, they decided they wanted to work together forever. They’ve been forging ahead with projects and collaborations ever since. Mel says when she looks back on those early years, she can hardly believe where her life is now. She attributes her success to her big leaps, her hard work, and a little right place-right time-right person magic.

I love hearing stories like Mel's because it feels like I’ve made one of those big leaps by taking a year to photograph this project. I can only hope things will work out as well for me as they have for Mel. I'm still scared every day, but I can’t imagine not doing this work that I love. What would you do if you had the freedom to take a leap, big or small? The whole world is crazy right now, so why not?