Bekah Hawrot Weigel | Steubenville, OH

Every time I pick up my camera for someone, it is a privilege. To be invited into your epic and your mundane is always something special. But this time, with this woman, was an incredible honor. There’s a trust that’s required when someone invites you into their raw moments. It’s a sacred, delicate thing, that trust. I do not have the words to do Bekah’s story justice. Only she can do that. But I do know one thing. I know I am blessed by this woman’s example. I am inspired by the way she shows up, even when it’s hard. I am inspired by the ways she is determined to grow, by the ways she is transforming her experience into ways she can help others. It’s not easy, this transformation. I think she’d be the first to tell you that.  But this woman is a warrior, and she will not be contained. She has the scars to prove it.

She is not defined by those scars. She is making them beautiful, one day, one moment, one step at a time. She’s working on something big, on resources for people who have been through trauma, too. My part in her story is small, but I am so grateful she asked me to help her tell it. 

For more about her, I encourage you to check out her website here. 

Bekah, these images are powerful. You are powerful. I know there are countless other people who need to hear your story, who need your voice. I know it’s scary. But you are not alone. We are with you. A whole community is behind you, cheering you on, praying for you, and loving you, even if you can’t hear us.

We’re here. We’re rooting for you. 

And that last frame? That’s what hope looks like.