“My past weighs on me, my memories weigh on me, the situations I’ve lived through weigh on me, my pain weighs on me, my future weighs on me, my expectations weigh on me, what I’m supposed to do weighs on me, my thoughts weigh on me, opinions weigh on me, society weighs on me, my body weighs on me, my ego weighs on me…”

Repeating these words to myself, I climbed a mountain, going over one by one all those past situations, pain, and limiting thoughts that I carried, each time choosing a stone to represent them, painting it black, mentally reviewing that feeling, and carrying it up the mountain. Over time, I was carring more stones and more weight, and in the difficulty of the climb, my thoughts were that I had decided to carry all that (metaphorically and literally) and that I would decide to get rid of all that burden upon reaching the top.

Photography by Lucia Perera Stocco