Grief, Growth & Getting Back Up ft. Mikayla Chaparro

#70: Mikayla Chaparro didn’t just pivot—she rebuilt. The last time Mikayla came on the podcast, she was walking through the raw, immediate aftermath of losing her son, Valor. It was tender, heavy, and still too fresh to fully unpack.

In this episode, Mikayla returns—still grieving, still growing, and now stepping into a completely new season of life. We talk about what has shifted in the last few years since, not just in her business and motherhood journey, but in who she is as a woman.

This is not a highlight reel. This is a story about loss, rebuilding, and choosing to keep moving—when it would’ve been easier to stay stuck.

We talk about:
→ Living with grief that doesn’t go away, but changes shape
→ Writing as a tool for healing, honesty, and not sugarcoating your story
→ The evolution of Dawn Photo Co. and what growth actually looks like behind the scenes
→ Selling a house, uprooting your family, and letting go of the version of life you once built
→ Embracing maturity, contentment, and identity beyond your job title

If you’re in a season of transition—grief, growth, or just wondering who the hell you are now—this episode will meet you right where you are.

Listen to Mikayla’s episode from 2022 here.

FIND WHAT YOU NEED FROM THIS EPISODE:

00:00 From Wedding Photographer to Grieving Mother—Mikayla’s Life-Altering Pivot

08:57 The Hire That Was Almost Too Good to Be True

15:35 Learning to Trust the Gut Feeling That Doesn’t Come with a Manual

17:36 When Motherhood Makes You Question Who You Even Are

22:08 Sharing Grief Online (and When It Starts to Feel Like a Performance)

30:08 Writing Long-Form Posts Because Instagram Captions Weren’t Cutting It

36:29 Packing Light—Emotionally and Literally

39:26 Selling the House, Selling the Life You Outgrew

46:52 From Local Biz to National Brand: The Dawn Photoco Expansion Plot