Portfolio Category - Portrait Awards 2014

I love the water but I am afraid of it. Water constantly changes and has the power to soothe, sustain, or destroy. I love people but I am afraid of them for the same reasons. Involving other people in my life means embracing the unknown, and I tend to see only the dangerous aspects of the unfamiliar. The guiding principle of my life so far has been one of self-preservation and control. We moved frequently when I was a child, so I have no hometown or sense of place. I have not done anything to create that for myself. I watch my friends get married and have children and wonder why I never felt that pull. This project is about my search for what is important in my own life. I have more questions than answers, and I am sometimes exhausted by the effort. I am afraid that I am getting lost in the questions, that I am holding myself back from an uncertain future that is probably not as frightening as I imagine it to be.