09/03/2026
Warning-long post ahead🤍
If you know me, you know I am a naturally private person. There's not much I share about my life outside of my few good friends.
But I have a story worth sharing, and I think it is finally time I got a little vulnerable.
This year I applied to be a part of a series with Inside Success Network called Women in Power. I will be so honest, I had no intentions of going through with it. I was so skeptical and so tentative of the outcome, I must have googled it every which way to Mars. I asked some close friends what they thought and their advice change the course of my life-"Go to the interview! Even if you don't get it, think of it as good practice for the future!"
Well I was so sure it would be a passing blip that I went to the first interview without makeup. But they loved me! They loved my candid honesty (sometimes one of my biggest flaws). They called me back for a second interview and again I thought-what could it hurt? They dove deeper into my story-what I have been through, the challenges I have faced-and sent me through to the 3rd and final screening. By this time I had a little more pep in my step, despite what I felt like was my world falling apart around me and I will come back to that. They sent my interviews to a production team to go over everything and see if I had what it took to be considered a Woman in Power...and I got the green light! I cried. Why? Because I have struggled and pushed and they saw it and were inspired. They wanted me to get out there and inspire others.
See here is the thing-we don't all get to start this world with a mommy and daddy who love us very much. We don't all get to have a childhood home to go back to. We don't all get home lunches packed with care.
I sure didn't. What I had was a hard working Mom who never gave up despite the choices she made before she could even vote. I spent years and years of my life wishing for a father to care for me and what I got was a step dad who made me hide in fear and plan how I was going to escape with my baby brother to keep him safe. What I got was a childhood full of motherhood as I stepped into the shoes of an adult the best I knew how to help raise the baby I loved at first sight. I watched him come into this world as I held my moms hand, pushed her hair aside and told her she was doing a good job at 7 years old in the delivery room.
This shaped my life.
Right out of high-school I knew college wasn't for me. I didn't have anyone to help me pay for anything. No parents with money, no grandparents with a college account or savings. All I had was a rude teacher at the local high-school telling me I would be a loser if I didn't go to college. All I saw was crippling debt because I didn't have the slightest clue what to do. So I did the only thing I knew how, the thing I had already been doing for 10 years, take care of people. I started my first job as a caregiver and I gave my love, gentle touch and patience to people who needed it the most for the next 10 years.
I had my beautiful babies and searched for my purpose. I went through years of jobs that didn't value me while I tried to build my life up to something.
I was so defeated, I didn't have any more fight left in me for a life that felt like it just wasn't going anywhere.
Finally, I fully leaned into my photography and what happened was a new dream I had never dared to hope for-it exploded!!! I was able to quit my job and go full time.
I had so many galleries in my queue I had to invest in more storage, better software, new equipment and I kept pushing forward. Through all that, I kept to my deadlines and treated each and every client like a best friend.
One thing people do know about me is that I am overflowing with gratitude. Why? After all this, why am I SO grateful? I figured out a long time ago that no one owes me anything and everything I get is a blessing.
The biggest blessing in my life (besides my babies) has been my husband Jaren. From the moment I said I wanted to try out my hand at photography, he has supported me every step of the way. He has bought me every camera, is my full time my tech support, and has taken care of our family so I can go off and follow this amazing path.
Through all of our ups and downs-Covid shutdown, the emergency birth of our daughter, buying our first home, his full hip replacement surgery, making the hard decision to give up our first home when it was no longer safe to live there, moving back into temporary housing and so many other bumps along the way-we have pushed through the chaos.
Through all this I have never given up on creating a better future for my kids and I will never stop creating, caring way too much, pushing through and making the sacrifices my mom had to make; worth it.
This is why I am so happy to finally present my very own episode of Women in Power.
Thank you for reading if you've made it this far! I literally could not have done this without you all supporting, liking, sharing and even watching my journey unfold.
I am here to prove that even if you come from nothing, you CAN build a life of success! I can't wait to see what 2027 has in store💪
PhotosbyKaylynn
PhotosbyKaylynn.com
https://heyzine.com/flip-book/df186a13e1.html
https://insidesuccess.tv/programs/womeninpowertv_kaylynn-retzer-wilcox
Watch Kaylynn Retzer-Wilcox turn a shattered dream, sleepless nights, and wedding-day chaos into PhotosbyKaylynn and a lasting legacy built through care.
