My “Before I Die” Project is a series of not just photos or scans, but a series of people who want to be a part of something larger. Our vision is to humanize the faces you see around campus, to remind you not to judge a book by it’s cover, and to teach you that everyone around you feels and thinks the same things. You are not alone.

This is Dereck, I see him around campus all the time. I’d never talked to him, and I made the mistake of assuming he was “normal”. However, there is no “normal”. The idea that everyone feels is something we quickly forget, and this project aims to shed light on the idea that the mask a person wears doesn’t define them. We don’t have a word for it in english, but with this project I hope to remind you to stop and realize what lays behind an appearance, discover that everyone around you not only thinks and feels, but has a story of their own.

Below you will find the faces of your peers, perhaps the boy who was in line behind you buying coffee, or the girl with a chronic angry face. You’ll also find something they don’t often tell strangers. There are many more to come in this project.

 

By Sara De Noyo