It Is What It Is

I was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; the only child to a single mother who since before I was born has struggled with a combination of drug abuse and poverty. After a police raid on our home when I was nine my mother attempted to overcome her addiction to methamphetamine. I always assured my mother that her addiction was never a source of shame or resentment, but this promise became more and more a lie as time went on. My mother never quit, and in high school I acquired my own dependencies as means to escape. It Is What It Is acts as a form of therapy. An autobiographical visual diary where I confront the decisions of my past. Stagnancy and fear create a mold and some friends and family close to my heart blissfully lay in this mold forever. By photographing the people and scenes most familiar to me I can begin to accept that these scenes are an aspect of my world. One fact I've learned that I hold close is that, I'm in no way content right now. But, I am proud of where I've come from.