thanks ya'all for your feedback!! i posted this image my gallery last night. I called it: "Into the Abyss: The Naked Truth." I had this quotation under the image to try to explain the image a bit and how it related to social issues: "Whoever battles monsters should take care not to become a monster too, for if you stare long enough into the Abyss, the Abyss stares also into you." Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, chapter 4, no. 146 The social issue portrayed in this image is child abuse. It has an affect, not only on individuals but society as a whole. The statistics on child abuse in just the U.S. alone are unbelievable. Click Here! And the effects of child abuse on society can be staggering as ya'all know. (read above article or Google for more information). A child who has been abused can sometimes grow up to be an abusive and/or violent person; however, this is certainly NOT always the case. The effects of child abuse has also led to genocide in our society. Adolf Hitler is an example. He was severely abused by his parents, and his way of coping with what he was unable to face was to take out his anger, his shame, and his unprocessed feelings on others. This is my opinion which i've based on research. The following links will provide you with more information about this topic. Alice Miller has written several incredible books, and she goes in-depth about Hitler's childhood and how & why he got an entire nation to support the mass murder of innocent people. She's written many eye-opening books about child abuse and its effect on society, as well as books that go into depth about Hitler's childhood and how genocide was a direct result of a NATION that had been abused as children. Here's a link to a short article she wrote to explain this: Click Here! In Hitler's attempt to battle his monsters, he became one himself. So why do i post an image of myself? How does it relate to the social issues of child abuse, violence, and genocide? Well, i was abused as a child too. I've had my own monsters to face, and I've stared into the Abyss...pretty scary. I wanted to make an image which showed that Abyss that Nietzsche was talking about. About the image: i was in my bedroom. i was facing the window. the horizontal lines you see are the blinds. the light was off in the bedroom. the light source was coming from the bathroom which is opposite the bedroom. Cindy, you certainly seemed to get it!!! Joe, i show light & dark in this image, and for me, yes, it's been about coming out of the dark. Randy, what i'm holding is my camera. What you guys are seeing is my front side. firestorm...good eyes! Michelle...you saw the message! some of you mentioned cropping. i think cropping some off the top would be good. thank you. jack, the part to the right...well it doesn't look aesthetically pleasing, but i wanted it there because it represents the Abyss. If not for that, you're right, it would be better to crop it. thanks I appreciate ya'all taking the time to give me feedback and suggestions. i could hardly sleep last night after making this. It was a HUGE emotional release for me!!! i couldn't talk about this in my gallery...not last night anyway. i wanted to let my image speak for me. well, that's something i need to work on!!! :) p.s. sorry the the length of this...LOL! I should use that as a disclaimer!! LOL!