The five photos I submitted for this scholarship are all a part of my AP Art sustained investigation, where through a series of photo memoirs I try to share with the world my experience with growing up gay. The project as a whole stemmed from this place of yearning; yearning for the want to stop feeling so alone because no one understood my story. A partial part of this loneliness I think is my fault because I don't enjoy talking about my sexuality, which I think comes from years of staying in the closet and being afraid to be myself. The beautiful thing about this project is that, although it's very scary to examine deep parts of myself that manifest in different ways in my current life and although it will be scary to release the project at my AP Art show in April, it's something that I'm forcing myself to do because I feel that it's necessary for my personal growth and development. Through the project, I'm able to examine and learn from the experiences of my life I've never really dealt with up to this point, and I get to show it to the people in my life that I haven't had the strength to come out to yet. It's also easier for me to communicate visually and through art than it is for me to communicate through my words. Through creativity, we are able to communicate things that seem so hard and complicated through words. By looking at a photo I make, I'm laying out the blueprint and guidelines of the conversation that comes after the viewer has time to sit with the themes. That conversation could be with me, but it could also be with someone else in their life that they thought of when they viewed my work. From day one I knew that I wanted this project to 1. be a way for me to reflect on my life as I said before, but also 2. serve as a way for other people to learn from my experiences and see themselves change because of it. In whatever way that comes. Art, in whatever form it comes in, is a way for our society to learn from one another and to celebrate our differences which in turn leads to a more enlightened and understanding world.

The three photos I submitted are all part of a project where through a series of photo memoirs I try to share my experience with growing up gay. "Sexual Curiosity" is a piece about coming to terms with sexual desire. In the photo, you get closer to a pair of underwear (meant to depict curiosity) attached to a tree in nature. The photo is a metaphor for how sexual desires are natural. The second piece I submitted, "Safe Space", is a piece about confronting a fear of straight men. I wanted to recognize how due to toxic masculinity, I have grown fearful to show my true self to the men in my life. The photo shows a gay couple with two straight men invading the only space they deem safe enough for them to be themselves in. The final piece I submitted is a response to the homophobia that exists within America today. I had the idea to rip up an American flag and create this character who seemed to be at a cross with his sexuality. I wanted the message of the piece to be explicit, and that message was along the lines of, "I see how you view me in relation to how you view this country, and I don't like how you see me so I'm going to reject your projections of me and rip up your views". In the future, I hope to go to an art school where I can further create work that creates conversations and deep thoughts around what makes us human. Whether it be for an assignment for Vogue or for The New York Times, I always want to maintain a sense of humanity in my photography that proves meaningful for years on end, and that means something to me.

My name is Alex Yunda-Raijer and I am a senior in high school who is planning to major in photography next year! My dream is to live in NYC and pursue my artistic dreams so I applied to schools like Parsons, Pratt, and SVA. I'm happy to say I was admitted to all three, however, I still do not have enough scholarship money to attend any of them. That is why I'm applying to this scholarship. The five photos I submitted for this scholarship are all a part of my AP Art sustained investigation, where through a series of photo memoirs I try to share with the world my experience with growing up gay. The project as a whole stemmed from this place of yearning; yearning for the want to stop feeling so alone because no one understood my story. A partial part of this loneliness I think is my fault because I don't enjoy talking about my sexuality, which I think comes from years of staying in the closet and being afraid to be myself. The beautiful thing about this project is that, although it's very scary to examine deep parts of myself that manifest in different ways in my current life and although it will be scary to release the project at my AP Art show in April, it's something that I'm forcing myself to do because I feel that it's necessary for my personal growth and development. Through the project, I'm able to examine and learn from the experiences of my life I've never really dealt with up to this point, and I get to show it to the people in my life that I haven't had the strength to come out to yet. It's also easier for me to communicate visually and through art than it is for me to communicate through my words. This is one of the reasons I believe art is one of the most crucial components of our current society. Through creativity, we are able to communicate things that seem so hard and complicated through words. The same thing could be said about music too, and how we are able to attach intense emotions to our favorite bands or songs. By looking at a photo I make, I'm laying out the blueprint and guidelines of the conversation that comes after the viewer has time to sit with the themes. That conversation could be with me, but it could also be with someone else in their life that they thought of when they viewed my work. I say this because the purpose of choosing a theme that deals with personal experiences and difficult societal topics was something I thought very hard about before I even started shooting. From day one I knew that I wanted this project to 1. be a way for me to reflect on my life as I said before, but also 2. serve as a way for other people to learn from my experiences and see themselves change because of it. In whatever way it comes. Through photographing themes within the LGBTQ+ community, straight viewers may come to a deeper understanding of my world because I'm offering them a window to look through. Art, in whatever form it comes in, is a way for our society to learn from one another and to celebrate our differences which in turn leads to a more enlightened and understanding world.