Damjana reads on her bed on Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021 in Columbia, Mo. Damjana is an English literature grad student — reading is a massive part of her everyday life. “Woman in war is actually an amazing class,” she said. “I swear to God!”
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Your diary (not just a poem)
My roommate is a hurricane and a poet. She is a beautiful, deep and complex human being living in a world full of opportunities and overbearing emotions. Her heart loves and hurts at the same time. She studies English literature, adores late-night cheeky talks about philosophy, and occasionally makes TikToks. Make-up is her superpower, fairies and feminist modernist writers — are all-time inspiration.
Damjana Vidicheska came to Columbia, Mo from Ohrid, a small ancient city in North Macedonia. Here in Columbia, she pursuing a Master’s degree in literature and questions the meaning of the future and life itself.
I have been photographing her for a while, but whatever I did — none of the photos felt like they did justice to her real spirit. Therefore I printed everything and asked her to use those photos as she wished: she can write whatever she wants, draw, or destroy it: whatever would feel true to herself. And that’s exactly what she did.
— Irynka
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Well, when you asked me to do it, I was delighted and I liked being in front of the camera since I knew you were gonna capture multiple memories. Also, I love doing projects like this since it reminds me of what I do back home and why I love being creative with drawing, poetry, photography.
It probably happened when it happened cuz I needed to get all of those emotions out of my system and onto a paper.
- Damjana
Damjana lies in bed on the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021 in Columbia, Mo. “Why am I even alive at this point?” Damjana wrote. “Oh yes, to wake up and grind.”
Damjana tries on fairy wings on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2021 in Columbia, Mo. She has been working on the wings for a couple of days, making them from scratch. “I’d love to fly away — somewhere over the mountain top,” Damjana wrote. “Take me to the forest and tell my parents I’m gone.”
A poster of a piece of “The Creation of Adam” fresco by Michelangelo Buonarroti and a poster of the “The Kiss” by Gustav Klimt hang on the wall in Damjana’s bedroom on Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021 in Columbia, Mo. “I always feel amazing,” she wrote. “I always ruin myself through thoughts.”
Damjana stands at the crosswalk on the way to see “French Dispatch” in RagTag Cinema on Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021 in Columbia, Mo. “My life is like a movie as well,” she said. “Tragic comedy.”
Damjana tries to take a nap after reading a book on Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021 in Columbia, Mo. “I’m so sad,” she wrote. “I think I can’t do this anymore.”
Damjana cuts her hair in the mirror on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021 in Columbia, Mo. “I came in to use the bathroom; now look what I ended up doing,” she said.
Damjana gets ready for a Halloween party on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021 in Columbia, Mo. “I finally got to be my true self for Halloween,” she said.
Damjana runs to the car after a Halloween party on Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021 in Columbia, Mo. “You said it’s like “Forever Young” and now this is what I think when I look at this photo,” she said.
A poem, written by Damjana on Friday, Dec. 3, 2021 in Columbia, Mo. “I just wanted to write a silly little poem that is not that deep, but it’s deep to me,” she said.
“I just wanted to write about my feelings in the past, how I feel now, and hopefully how I will feel in the future.”