#52weeksofmarcela

“When I get lonely these days, I think: So BE lonely. Learn your way around loneliness. Make a map of it. Sit with it, for once in your life. Welcome to the human experience. But never again use another person’s body or emotions as a scratching post for your own unfulfilled yearnings.”

For a long time I was searching for something better than where I was, "the grass is always greener..." Turns out, I've got everything I need right where I'm at. That small change in perspective makes a world of difference. "The greatest love story you will ever have is the one you will have with yourself, celebrate it." ~ Rune Lazuli #52weeksofMarcela (at Portland, Oregon)

Two years of depression. That's how long it lasted. Two years of feeling like a stranger in my skin, feeling like an outsider, struggling with the weight of insecurities, pushing away and losing the people that I loved most. It took two years to find myself again, to reconnect and find peace within. That's why today I'm a huge advocate for taking time off, for reflection, for fun, to better be able to enjoy life, because depression...well, it drains you. Basta. Ahora, mira como florezco. #52weeksofMarcela

Week 11. The world is on fire. The world is flooding. The world is shaking. My heart aches for everyone and everything in the path of destruction. #52weeksofMarcela “Life is too short for loose ends, for feelings that were never acted upon, gestures that were never taken. So take the damn chance. Get on the plane, send that person an ‘I’m sorry,’ tell them that you love them, drive all night to see someone in the morning. I don’t care if it makes you vulnerable, if it exposes you. Expose yourself. Open the hell up. Let life fill you with hurt, with happiness; let it weather you, let it teach you. Let it inspire you, let it break you down and build you up. You are here to risk your heart. Please don’t ever forget that. Please don’t ever forget that love is always the answer.” - Bianca Sparacino

Week 5 of my self portrait series is inspired by Manuel Álvarez Bravo, oftentimes referred to as the father of Mexican photography. "I think that light and shadow has exactly the same duality that exists between life and death. In a certain way the shadow, the absence of light, is the negation of the light." Thank you @katyweaverphotography for the inspiration!! 💕 #52weeksofmarcela