Portraits Of Boston: Taking Care Of Myself

“I come from a family of drug addicts, and my mother is a very selfish person. From a very young age, I had to learn how to take care of myself. Everything I have in my life, I’ve gotten it myself. I try to choose strength over weakness, but sometimes it’s hard.”

“What’s the hardest part?”

“There was a lot of emotional damage. Because of their decisions, there is a lot that I have to work through personally. It’s tough because it’s not something I chose. I think we often forget that our actions greatly affect other people.”

Portraits of Boston is a project of independent photographer Ivan Velinov. He is regularly sharing some of his favorite portraits with WBUR. Visit his website to see the hundreds of portraits he has taken on the streets of Boston.