ARC Malta
Feb 12, 20191 min
Updated: Mar 4, 2019
Photography - Focus By Mr V
I'm happy to introduce our first participant Claudio in our project "Everyday Heroes - Body Issues"
Achieving life
"Here I stand in 2019, almost 26 years since my birth and for the first time I am living life in true mental freedom and independence. It seems to be that my entire existence till now was simply a process of self-understanding and throughout the past few years, an effort to break away from everything that I had been taught in my childhood. In a way, everything I formed part of seemed to push me away from my true self, be it society, religion and even family.
Maltese culture, social norms and expectations had put me in a position where I felt imprisoned within myself. I was scared to express my feelings, particularly with regards to my sexuality and felt a responsibility to be someone that I were expected to be. Indifference, bullying, homophobia and two threatening depressive phases later, here I am feeling self-assured, positively and humbly Proud of being myself.
In my upcoming portrait I will be portraying my life as it stands now, i.e promising myself to never give up on life, aspiring to be more of myself whilst never forgetting all that life and those around me had to teach me. It would be of great satisfaction if maybe my contribution could inspire others to also be themselves."
- Claudio