It's important for me to keep an open mind about the pictures I take.
This is a shot taken in downtown Portland, and I'd like to say that I intentionally shot this with the backpack in the frame. I didn't. In fact, I shot this, came home, and was disappointed because I thought the bag was a distraction.
Being relatively new to photography at the time, I had really only shot landscapes, nature, and cityscapes, and if there was something or someone in my shot I would get frustrated. The bag ruined the shot for me at the time.
Over time though, I kept coming back to this shot and I wasn't sure why. I ultimately realized it was the backpack that was an entry point to the shot for my eye. That backpack adds a narrative that the shot lacked otherwise.
Since this lesson, I try to keep my mind open to new possibilities that push my goals for a shot. If you go into a shot with your eyes closed, you just might miss a better shot right in front of you. Had I seen the bag to start with, I would have missed this one myself.