Faces look different from every angle with every single face we make. Having photos taken of oneself can be very stressful for many. We set an expectation on ourselves of what we do and must look like. If we don’t meet our own expectations of “looking good” we internalize it and seek to redeem ourselves by taking another photo. I have come to find this whole ritual hilarious, though I still actively participate in it. Even my closest friends, who I have seen on their most unflattering days, will send me a photo of themselves and disclaim how terrible they look. Most of the time, their “poor” appearance is the last thing I notice in these instances. They are my friends. I have seen them in motion so many times that their faces are normal to me. (continued below)

Though I feel this way about others, I cannot see myself this way. My relationship with my own appearance is definitely rocky. It is so much easier said than done to accept your own appearance and give yourself the same love that you give others. This series of images was and is an opportunity to attempt to mend my relationship with my own appearance, and continues to be everyday because it sits like this hanging in my apartment. In my utopia, our bodies appearances are arbitrary, but unfortunately, we don’t typically live in that world. We cannot control what we were given genetically. Without our bodies and faces we wouldn’t be able to live. At the end of the day, am an able bodied person and ultimately I am grateful for that. 

Putting a lot of “unflattering” photos of myself on a wall for anyone to see I believe is a great first step to breaking down the poor relationship I have with my looks and the way I perceive myself. I will am forcing myself to put my insecurities on display and I just have to be comfortable with whatever the outcome is of that. My goal continues to be that this will help my logical views on my appearance mend with my emotional views more.