04/14/2026
Dear paintball,
“What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.” -T.S. Elliot
All good things come to end. We just never know when that end might be. We can try and plan for it, but sometimes we just truly never know.
I went into the 2026 NXL Season knowing it was going to be my last season shooting for the league and traveling nationally. What I didn’t know or expect was as soon as the finals were done, I broke down on the field. It was such a surreal moment. And in that moment I knew that it was time. Time to step away and open the door for someone else to take my spot. You often hear it from professional athletes. Where they say, “I just knew it was time.” I never understood it until this moment.
Winning photographer of the year back to back to back, was something I never could have dreamed of. A chapter I could have never written. So there is truly no better time to step away than do it while I’m on top. Almost as if winning the Super Bowl and then riding off into retirement. A full circle moment as the first ever event I went to as a kid was NPPL Tampa. Wild how things work out.
Often times, people don’t get to choose when they walk away from the thing they love. In my case, I get to make that choice. A privilege in some way. Paintball gave me everything. It gave me a purpose. It gave me a career. It helped make someone who was insanely insecure, a little bit more secure.
I accomplished more in this sport than I ever set out to do. So it’s time to move on and keep accomplishing my other dreams.
What’s next for me? I’m focusing 100% on the and my YouTube channel. It’ll be “a podcast by a creator for creators”, and going to be incorporating more videos/vlogs over on the channel. So make sure you’re following along over there!
As we all know… no one every truly leaves. So I’ll still be around locally taking pictures for my local friends/fields.
I will truly be grateful for the paintball community and relationships I’ve built.
And hope that I left paintball a bit better than I found it.
Love,
Shellda
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