“Why should I go to college?" He asked. Like many US students, Alex Whitehouse is in the midst of a great decision - college.
“For so long, the school board didn’t even take the issue of gender seriously at all,” said Emile Eller, a fashion design freshman at Stephens College who identifies as nonbinary.
“When we skate, we dance. Our bodies are together and our movements become complementary." Kev Presley dances after a local drag show performance by Veronika Versace in South Columbia, MO on June 27, 2019 at Yin Yang Night Club.
Lauren Lefitz is a graphic designer and painter in Southern California. Lefitz, who poses here at her childhood school, uses abstraction and nostalgia in her art.
“I want to model, I want to photograph, I want to art direct, I want to style,” Courtney Fitch said. Although Fitch pushes himself artistically and yearns to pursue his passion full-time, he lives the life of a student. “I have bills to pay,” he said. “It’s all me baby, no one is here to feed me and that’s just fine.”
Sage Wallace-Williams says she uses her personal style to express herself. “When I’m not dressed colorfully I feel really down in the dumps,” she noted.
Rayla Puckett, 4, pauses for a moment while building a sandcastle with her father in Malibu, Calif. She later ran to her mother for a hug as the sun hit the horizon.
“She is my everything,” the young man said of his girlfriend beside him. “He ins’t lying. I am his everything,” she replied with a chuckle.
“Sometimes I look to the sun and thank it for its warmth,” Emmett Ferguson said after a run on August 8, 2019.
In high school, Michael Fisbeck weighed 300 pounds. Fisbeck, pictured here on Dec. 8, 2018, decided to stop eating. “I would chew gum to convince myself that I was eating.” In college, Fisbeck was diagnosed with anorexia. “Now, I need to help others like me," he said.
Maddie Davis says she has never had happy dreams. For as long as she can remember, she dreams of sorrow and fear. "Dreams have always intrigued me," she said. "I have recurring dreams, but none of them are pleasant."
Tzar Domynik, 20, is a musician and artist in Los Angeles. "My aim is to mix taboo imagery and chaotic sounds to create a new form of entertainment," Domynik said. "I want people to appreciate sounds and art that are unsettling and brash."
"Halloween is simply the best," said Grant Minson. He left the party as the Columbia Police rushed into the scene.
Humera Lodhi was the sole hijabi in most of her classes during the 2015 University of Missouri protests. “It made me realize, I think, these issues of racism and intolerance are pretty deeply rooted within people and pretty hidden," Lodhi says.
"I feel like I'm truly looking at myself for once," Quentin Montoya said. "Thank you to those who have been with me throughout my mental-health struggles, my academic challenges, and creative obsessions." Montoya cut his hair short and dyed it pink during quarantine.
Battle High School band members look to the camera while preparing for the homecoming football game in late Sept. in Columbia, Missouri.
"Sometimes I forget we're in a pandemic," Simone Moscovitch says. "I get in my car to drive to the store and I completely forget. No mask, no gloves — and then I have to go back home."
"I touch fruit for money," Hunter Naelor, a grocery store employee, said. Naelor, a current high school student in Missouri has a self-prescribed hunger for adventure and late nights. "I like to be with friends and drive and drive and drive."
Josh Karasik is a budding pop music artist in Los Angeles. His music explores youth and love.