There aren't many pictures of me in my teen years because of these insecurities and inhibitions, but now I love being in front of the camera! I have one friend in particular to thank. She made me pose, took a hundred shots, all with different instructions like, "chin down" "chest out" "arch your back" after which she selected only a handful to edit and then finally sent me two of them. It was really eye-opening to be a part of that process– to realise the amount of effort that goes into the perfect images we are bombarded with on a daily basis. I got over most of my insecurities during my semester abroad in Australia– just seeing people of all sizes rocking all kinds of looks whether it was an outrageous colour or a significant lack of clothing, being in a space where all bodies that were comfortable was refreshing.