Finding beauty that is more than skin deep seems to get harder with each passing day. Between how the self, societal norms, beauty standards change the way someone perceives themselves, self love is hard. I have struggled with my own self image for a long time going from a very societally attractive young man to a larger person in a short time. I found myself worrying about how other people saw me, convincing myself I wasn’t worthy of love, that due to my size I wouldn’t be accepted among those who once had. This persisted for a long time. It wasn’t until I was tasked with this portraiture project that I had to find someone who follows the typical beauty standard or take on the challenge of looking at myself in a better light. I’ve never been one to turn down a challenge and so this project is my way of seeing my own beauty, my own elegance, while also fighting those societal, beauty norms.