Photo taken by contributor Brandon Halley, a 20-year-old fine art photography student from St. Louis, Missouri. Brandon suffers from severe anxiety and depression, and is currently in recovery from self-harm. Realizing that photography/digital art was the only way he knew how to relieve stress in a healthy manner, he started doing it more often in hopes of being noticed and making a living off of it, all while improving himself personally.

About this photo: “This photo represents freedom, and letting go of all of the worries and fears that consume and gnaw away at the mind. I took this photo last year on my last day of high school. I was so excited, but so anxious at the same time. There were so many things that I was worried about: What if I can’t pay for college, what if I have to drop out, or get bad grades and fail? What if I end up homeless or have to live with my parents until I’m older? What if I never connect with anybody again? All these what ifs were just exploding like fireworks in my head and it was just so overwhelming. I was sitting there thinking to myself “now what?” I don’t want to die without making an impact. Not on everybody, that’s impossible. I want to make an impact on myself. My life, and hopefully along the way I can do something amazing as well..”

Find more from Brandon at his website.

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