In my last post, where it all began, I told you about my first photo shoot and how, now, 40 years later, I have the chance once again to step in front of a camera with a professional photographer. You might be thinking: “Nuria, 40 years? What the hell have you been doing all this time and why did it take so long?”

Well, if you follow this blog and read all my posts, you already know the answer. And if you don’t… well, time to start reading hahaha I don’t have time today to summarize my life—it’s a long story. The truth is, I’ve lived a lot, done many things, learned so much, and I’m not going to regret what I did or didn’t do, or whether I wasted time or not. The point is: here I am. Life has given me another chance—or rather, I’ve given myself another chance. My kids are grown up, my mother is in a better place, and I’m finally ready to let go of fears and insecurities (well, I’m still working on it, but I’m getting there—don’t rush me).

I really wanted to take some new photos for my professional acting book and, since I changed my hair color (which I’m not completely convinced by yet and I still don’t know if I’ll go back to my red, but for now this is what it is), I needed to do the shoot right away. I looked at several photographers and had many options, but in the end I chose Pablo because I really love his photography. We’d been talking for a while, he lives very close to my place in Alicante, and finally, a few weeks ago, I had the chance to go and do the damn photos.

I have to admit I hesitated a lot: thinking I should wait because I was very overweight or “obese,” as my new scale says (a gift from my partner—still not sure if it’s a gift or a curse), worrying about my hair, and so on. But thanks to Yoli, my hairdresser, friend and confidant, and Ritshu, an outstanding makeup artist, they made me look beautiful and ready to face the camera.

And there was Nuria, putting herself in Pablo’s hands. I have to say he made me feel incredibly comfortable, and although it was hard at first, I think we achieved some photos that—considering this was my first session after 40 years, me being “obese” according to my scale, with little confidence and not fully seeing myself—have left me really happy with the result. Now the real problem is choosing which ones to retouch a bit so I can share them, and that’s proving even harder. Pablo selected a few he liked and retouched them already, and now my soul sisters Bea and Marilola will help me retouch the rest we choose.

Stay tuned on my social media to see them all. Remember, I’ll be sharing them on @nuricoco and @nuriapendas.

Oh… I have so much more to tell you. I’m going a thousand miles an hour, with so many ideas in my head and so many things I want to do that I drive myself crazy. I want to thank each and every one of you who are there every day, giving me confidence and helping this new dream of mine slowly become a reality. As long as I’m having fun and doing what I love, that’s all I need—the rest is secondary.

And remember: you need to do what you love, follow your passions, and don’t let anyone stop you. You are free to do whatever you want, and please… don’t wait 40 years like I did. Damn it.