September 2023 Self Portrait Digital Photograph 16in X 24in The Let it Go series is about releasing all the personal offenses that I feel. Bit by bit I take things personally in my life whether something was done intentionally or unintentionally to make me upset. It starts to crowd in my mind and becomes something I have scenarios about throughout my day and that can be pretty heavy to carry. In light of different situations in my life, be it relationships, work or my spiritual life, I decided to let it go and what that looks like for me is to loosen my heavily weighted mind. To represent that I photographed myself grabbing my hair in a tight grip and loosening it until I completely let it go. The tension of holding to disdain is always in our heads and it affects us more than it affects people around us until it does. It’s a psychological response to not knowing how to talk about what’s bothering us. We bottle the hurt in until we explode whether that looks like physically falling ill, having a breakdown or falling off the edge. It’s not good to hold it in, even if the conversation that needs to be had is hard to swallow for the other person, it will eventually come to a solution whether that involves a mediator, or the people involved hash it out. It’s important to let it go, for the sake of those around you, and for your sake as well. Part 1 is the first step in this process where I'm holding on to the hurt demonstrated by grabbing hold of my hair. This series was photographed in my bedroom using a satin fabric as a background on my canon rebel t7 and edited on Adobe Photoshop.