When I saw the concept phrase “heavy as a stone, light as a feather”, I immediately thought of my pet bird Eli. Of course, her feathers are literal, so she was the most whimsical and playful choice to model the prompt, and to ground the mood of this photo. But there is another reason that I brought her along to my photoshoot today: Eli has been a part of my life for almost 11 years. She was with me through nearly every stage of my life thus far, from child to young adult. In the photo, she is leaning forward slightly, eyes narrowed. She gazes toward something invisible outside the frame with an intense focus that makes her appear like a little detective-bird. The tilt of her head and the mood of the image both express the duality of an everyday mood for me. To the outside world, I feel light, whimsical, light as a feather. But inside, I feel heavy, as if there is some stone weighing me down. Eli is both, to me: she is the feather and she is the stone. And in this image, you can see both those sides of her, too. Like her, I am quiet, but heavy. Small, but full of everything. This amazing photograph of her becomes less about a literal bird and more about what a bird can represent, for me the line between weight and weightlessness, the emotional baggage that we all lug around, sitting silently in the wings. It’s crazy how something so tiny can carry such immense meaning and emotion.