1. "This is the last picture I ever got to take with my parents. After this, they never had a relationship (outside of me), and when they tried again, my dad died."

2. "To me this is a picture of all my children. April 17, 2017, the day me and Penelope went to Oso Flaco Lake in California to celebrate what would have been the birth of my sweet Juliet."

"This picture not only represents my little girls but my first miscarried baby Benjamin as well. We brought a big round white balloon to release, we played the song I always sang to my three children when they were in my tummy and when I was ready I released the balloon with my daughter."

3. "I miss my aunt. This is one of my favorite memories of her, and I hope she knows how much I miss her every single day."

4.  "I took this on my way to a Kentucky parish to see a miraculous healer before one of my surgeries about a week and a half ago. I was so nervous, but I saw this in the sky and it was like BOOM, God is here."

5. "Turning away from my own toxicity and trying something new."

"For so long one of the issues I've had is hating myself. I hated the way I looked, the way I laughed, who I was. I made myself feel worthless for a long time. This summer I made an effort in changing that and trying to love myself more. This picture was the first one I took to contribute to that. I felt like it was me turning my back on the hatred."

6. "This is my family. We are all adopted and come from many different families, but we love each other anyway."

7. "My grandma and I painted this to look like our dog that died of congestive heart failure. Painting this statue with my grandma was our peace. She never left us."

8. "This was during a time for big changes and I was unsure of who I was and what I truly wanted. The smile in that photo was a mask for so much that was submerged inside me for the longest time."

"In the picture is someone who has brought me so much joy and has helped me through so much; the one person I can tell anything to. The clothes we wear represent an important symbol and commitment in our lives, the way our hair is styled, the distance we are apart from one another, and the background as well."

9. "This is me and my dad waving bye to our shadows. It was the last vacation before I went to college. It represents saying goodbye to all the bad memories in the past and getting ready to look forward to all the good things ahead."

10. "These are the people that allow me to be myself, fully, and no matter what that looks like they will always love me."

11. "These are the letters my brother wrote to me and my parents when he went away to boot camp all summer. It was the only way he could talk to us and tell us about what was going on and how he was doing."

12. "No one knew what we were doing and no one could tell us we couldn't do it. It was so liberating and adventurous."

"We sprinted a mile and a half down a rocky hiking trail to see it then we had to go back up before the sun set."

13. "This is my mother and I. This just brings happiness to know that even through the rough times together, we still love each other."

14. "This is important to me because this is what the sky looked like when my whole life changed for the better. It is a day I will never forget."

15. "I moved away for a year to kind of find out what I wanted, and I realized all I wanted was to be back home in Dayton and help the community become better."

"Over the couple of years I've been gone and come back, I've been so impressed with how Dayton has grown and I want to be a part of it, for our future youth...which is why I'm an educator."

16. "He's strong, kind, quiet, and driven. My being away at college has only brought us closer. As we grow older and begin to become friends as well as siblings, I find myself dependent on the consistency of his presence more and more."

"It's amazing to me that annoying kids who used to fight and bicker with each other constantly have grown up to call each other siblings."

17. "This is one of the few pictures in which my family was a happy family of four. Taken before the divorce and before I became aware of my father's alcoholism, this is the last picture I remember us being happy and ignorant of what was to come, and why I cherish it so close to my heart."

“Although my family is no longer a family of four, my family is so complex with its various branches and connections, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I love my mom. I love my dad. I love my brother. I love this Polaroid."

18. "The grandfather that we all thought was going to live forever."

19. "This started me taking care of myself, because he helped me realize that I need to take care of myself because before all I did was try to care for others. For me to be able to do that, I need to take care of my physical and mental well being."

20. "This college wants me to come there. I have to work up to it and stay focused so I'll be able to attend college."

21. "My sister Ellie. Nobody knows me better than her. She's taught me what unconditional love is. We could be fighting as sisters do, and the second I need her she's always there."

"There is no better friend than a sister, and there is no better sister than her. I love her with my whole heart."

22. "This is my father and me. He passed away last year so this is important to me because this was when everything was "normal." It also symbolizes the idea of him always going to be there to walk me across the questionable."

"In this case it was the street. On the bigger spectrum, it represents life in general."

23. "This was the first trip for this car and there were so many emotions going on. Great triumph and pure happiness in this moment. I was so proud of what I had achieved over the past few months getting this thing back together."

24. "This photo represents the beginning, genuine happiness, friendship. I'm by myself most of the time so at least in this photo I didn't feel alone."

26. "Proud and loud; that is who I am."

"I came to Ohio in 2013 to study at the University of Dayton. As many of us did, we left our life-long friends and family behind in pursuit of something bigger-- better quality of life. Sadness, anger, anxiety, stress, the feeling of missing out... these are examples of what I, like many others, went through as I was going through my college career. This picture was taken my senior year, right before graduation day. The photographer was not expecting me to bring props, but I would not dare forget about where I came from and who were part of bringing me up to where I am today."

27. "Alexandra Bruen Smith born 2/28/91, Robert Bruen Turney reborn 2/28/97."

28. "This is an old picture of my mom and it means a lot to me because it represents her sobriety, which means the world to me. I hold this picture close to my heart because I know that God has a special plan for her life. She is the amazing woman who gave birth to me and for that I am forever thankful."

29. "This represents my new leaf I am starting of self-love because I hate myself but I know I shouldn't. It's a reminder that my skin is beautiful."

30. "Greatness and hope! This photo means the world to me because it represents students who come from all backgrounds and walks of life who all have hope and greatness in common to achieve their goals."

31. "This is the day I moved out of my home and on to a new life. As I stood on the steps of the front porch, I felt liberated. It was the beginning of the rest of my life: a life free of abusive and toxic family."