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“I love You.” are beautiful words we say to other people but, more times than not, hardly say to ourselves.
This ongoing project titled “We Luv U 2 Butterfly” is an attempt to help the most precious of our society, the kids, say these three magical words to themselves. The following images are taken of high school students who are at a tender age when feeling a little (or a lot) bit awkward, lonely, and scared tend to be an everyday natural occurrence. And they are definitely shy of any sort of camera. However, by having them collaborate on the taking of their own portrait, they go from being self-conscious to becoming self-aware, and from being unsure to being brave.
These images are a dialogue between them and you. How they are in these images is how they want you to see them: strong, inquisitive, unbowed, vulnerable, sincere, joyful, dignified, needing love, and ready to give it in turn. They want you to know that the world around them might be a bit too small for their ideas, and what they are striving for, although they can’t quite articulate it just yet, definitely exists. They just need a little help getting “there”. A good way to start is by listening and loving them back.