The Raw.Honest.Loved.Project

This is the countdown of the last of the women’s individual posts until the blog all about our night doing this project with some outstanding teen girls will be released. Only three more of these awesome women to go after this…thank you for taking the time to read their individual stories that they so honestly and openly shared with you. It makes this all worth it.

The blogs about women were long. Real long.

For the sake of none of these women’s honest, heartfelt words and loving messages from their friends and family going unseen, I’m going to be posting each in a single blog every couple of days or so until I am able to finally get the teen session executed and up to share. So that you can take just five minutes and read one woman’s “story” and maybe find comfort in the way you can relate/understand/empathize/etc.

They will be in no particular order…drawing numbers 1-18.
Today’s number: #12.

I give you mara.
(mara’s post can also be found in Part 2 of the women’s project blogs: https://alanatphotography.wordpress.com/2013/02/12/women-raw-honest-loved-part-2/)

mara’s words ~

“A Very Hairy Nightmare –
I never realized I was a chubby girl until a boy in second grade screamed, “Watch out for thunder thighs!” across the playground at me during a game of tag. I became even more aware of my size and stature when my mom called me a fat ass and put me on a serious diet at age eight. I was stuck with braces, and later neck gear, for the better part of my awkward tween years. Just my luck, I also had terrible vision and had to wear lenses as thick as bottle caps. As the years have passed, I learned to get contact lenses, use an invisible retainer, embrace my curves, and, when I can’t, just wear clothes that flatter my shape. Now, after recently having a baby, I am trying to learn to love my body all over again.
Then there is the hair. Ugh – the hair. Women were always commenting on my thick, dark, wavy hair when I was a kid. Unfortunately that hair stuck to my body in more places than the top of my head. I had the bushiest, thickest uni-brow as well as hair on my arms and legs that made me feel like Sasquatch. I remember begging my mom for a razor as a 13th birthday present. She finally acquiesced after catching me cut worse than an incident with Edward ScissorHands on the bathroom floor, her adult razor in my hot little hands. To this day, I still shave my forearms. Additionally, I have been plucking every stray hair from my face since fifth grade. Have you ever looked at your face under high magnification? It seriously changed all my grooming habits. I can’t leave the house without giving my entire face a once over with tweezers. The facial hair plucking is now an obsession. All I can see when I look in the mirror is a bearded lady. I can’t even go camping without a hand mirror and travel tweezers. I wish I could get over it and just get waxed or laser hair removal or something but, honestly, I have been too embarrassed to grow my hair long enough for an esthetician to see and remove it! I wish I had been born hairless.“

mara’s friends and family:

“It’s hard to put into words everything that Mara is. She is spicy, passionate, flirtatious, and a tease. She’s a blast to have fun with. She is very protective over the ones she cares for. Motherly and nurturing…sometimes even when you don’t want it. Stubborn as hell, and depends on if she will let up on her stubbornness in a situation. She gets matter-of-fact on ya when she wants you to do something. Great friend.” – jen

“Although I’ve only had the pleasure of Mara’s company a handful of times, I cannot help but feel impressed by her wonderful, positive personality and stunning face. In my experience with her, I’ve witnessed a gracious hostess, an engaging charmer of children, and a very talented artist. I was really amazed by her artwork and her ability to decorate. She is very talented and I hope she continues to develop these talents and share them with the world.” – andrea

“I knew Mara and I would be fast friends the moment I met her and heard that sarcastic tone in her voice. She is hilarious and has the best laugh – makes you want to laugh with her all night – so, we do. ☺
Mara is fearless. She is bold. She is dynamic. She walks into a room and demands attention just because she radiates fun.
She is BEAUTIFUL. Mara has the most beautiful smile and most captivating expressions. And THOSE EYES. She is my dream to photograph, as she is full of life and not afraid to show it. She is dramatic and captivating and lovable.
She is incredibly patient. I am blown away that she is not in pieces after the troubles she’s had with little Balen. ☹ I feel like I would be a constant sobbing mess, but that woman is an enduring powerhouse – a sacrificial, patient, and loving mama.
She is a STRONG woman – she stands up for what she believes in and is protective of those she loves.
Mara is one of those friends that I am always able to just pick up in our friendship from wherever we left off, (if we don’t see each other for a bit, as life has become busy for us both, now that we’re not just gallivanting single ladies) ☺ which is incredibly comforting. I appreciate this woman wholeheartedly. I only wish we lived closer to each other.” – alana

the original blogs (with backstory) can be found here:

https://alanatphotography.wordpress.com/2013/02/12/women-raw-honest-loved-part-2/