The Horizon is Just an Illusion

Added 1546793407 by Stephanie Pearl Photography.

Meet Shreya, an inspirational lady whom is carving her own path in life, rather than the path that was expected of her. From a society where higher education in women wasn't encouraged and feminism wasn't a taught topic, she has broken free from tradition and achieved more than anyone could have imagined; finishing her degree at Harvard and taking the world by storm.

She said "This picture foreshadows my life at these crossroads. I’ve always felt like there was a fated, predetermined, prewritten path that someone else has paved for me, a path that other women before me have walked over for generations and that was the ONLY path I HAD to follow. Especially as a woman carrying that legacy of submission forward. One step off that track would mean disappointing and losing everyone back home, everything I’ve known all my life. Letting go of comfort, security and that cushion to fall back upon. I’ve been raised as if the sole purpose of my existence is to get married and bear children. Something tells me I am here to do more, a LOT more. So in that picture there’s a worn path in front of me, carefully laid out, that’ll take me to my “supposed” destination, no hiccups, no surprises. And there’s one inside me, that bleeds a completely different story. That’s so artistically and poignantly raw, rickety, even unstable and unfinished. I’ll make it up as I go, but at least it’s mine."

The strength of her will can be felt as the path of her supposed fate scars on her back, yet her new adventure unfurls, rich with life and discovery, of powerful self sacrifice in order to chase greater causes. She bears the burden of the suppressed voice of compliance and the story that didn't unravel but is boldly aligning herself with her destiny. One railroad tie at a time.

Model: Shreya Ghodawat

Dress: Pankaj & Nidhi

Assistants: Pravin Raj & Vanessa Sheriff

Location: Bukit Timah Rail Corridor in Singapore