As an artist who is dyslexic and color blind I want the viewer to gain a better understanding of the many different hidden disabilities that exist.  For “A Day in the Life . . .” I have photographed twenty students with hidden disabilities across the UNC-CH campus. With this project I want to ask the viewer: “If you knew this person prior to finding out about their hidden disability, would your perception of this person change or stay the same?”

I have always wanted to hide my dyslexia from classmates and others thinking that I don’t want to be seen as this person who is “broken”. Most of the people portrayed here have many stories to share that are very similar to my own. I interviewed each person before taking their portrait. The whole process took 45-60 minutes. One of the questions I asked was how to represent their hidden disability with their portrait. I have been in touch with all students after the photo shoots to figure out with them if I have represented their hidden disabilities the way they perceive them. The students that agreed to be part of this project were and are still very nervous about having their photo on display, but they know that this could be something that will give a better understanding of hidden disabilities and how they go about their daily lives.