“I was only 20 when I found out I was pregnant with Elias. It wasn’t planned but when I saw his heartbeat for the first time during the ultrasound I felt that I could not part from him. Two years ago his dad and I split up and I was insecure about raising him on my own. Luckily I get a lot of support from my parents so I was able to go back to school again. For a long time, I was worried because I thought I was missing out on life.
Also when his dad and I split up I was afraid that no man would ever want to date me because I have a son. I’m still a single parent but now I know that is not true. Life is really good, I have a job and a supporting family. Maybe I missed out on some things in life, but it’s okay because I have him.”

“Growing up I didn’t believe in love. I think its because I never really had a good example. My parents divorced when I was young. My siblings and I lived with my mum and she had to manage on her own. We are a family of 5 kids and we would always stick together and even now that we are adults and live in different countries we keep in touch on a daily basis.
When I graduated my sister came all the way from China while being 6 months pregnant just to be at my graduation. If my parents would have stayed in the perfect relationship we would not have cherished each other that much. Now that I’m an adult I understand that the situation between my parents is something between them. I realized that if you want to find love you have to let go of your guard. Even if that means getting hurt.’‘

“My red hair was always something I felt ashamed of.
It was the reason I got bullied for years, it made me different from the other kids. When I went to high school I was able to start all over again but still I made sure stay unnoticed. At seventeen I got randomly approached by a photographer on the street. He said I had a lot of potential and asked if he could take some photos of me in his studio. I didn’t really understand why but I ended up going anyways. During the shoot it was the first time I was complimented for my red hair and white skin. Everything I had been so ashamed of was now considered as beautiful. From that moment I got into modeling and it became my career. However I never wanted to give up on my studies and managed to combine my modeling career with my studies.
It meant I had to work twice as hard to get to achieve both.
I remember being in China for one month and flying back home for only one exam. I barely had time to study so I would be studying on the plane ride home. I finished 2 bachelors and 1 master degree which I’m really proud of. Sometimes it was hard and even lonely but I have always been motivated. I think it’s because I was bullied I have that extra bit of motivation to prove them wrong.”

“I was only seventeen when I met my first big love. I thought she was the one but after one year we broke up. Honestly it broke my heart. I am from a small town in Germany and I have never really felt as if I belonged there. When my relationship ended I started to think about ways to travel. One year ago I came up with the idea to travel while making music. My parents didn’t necessarily thought it was a good idea but my motivation to leave was too strong. I left home a few days ago and so far I’m still getting used to my new living situation but I do feel extremely liberated. I don’t know where I’ll sleep tonight but what I do know is that soon I’m about to get to know myself a lot better.”

“After our first kiss I asked him if he wanted to meet me again the following day. He said yes without hesitation. From the very first moment I felt that I didn’t want to be separated from him anymore. A few years ago, that was before we moved to Amsterdam, I asked Gi to marry me. It wasn’t a romantic thing, I just wanted to organize our legal stuff. I’m not a party guy, I have never been so I wasn’t keen on having a big wedding. We got married on a Tuesday. All I wanted was to be married to this man. We went for an ice-cream afterwards, it wasn’t a big deal, but it was us.”

I photographed Andrew and Gi in 2013 when I just started Humans of Amsterdam. After I took their photo in 2013 I was too shy to ask them for their story. When I worked on my book I wanted to meet them again so this time I could actually get to know them a little better. Now they have 2 pages in my book which they totally deserve. To read the rest of their story make sure to order the book 🙂 Also know that by purchasing the book you are making a huge contribution to Humans of Amsterdam and the continuation of this project. To order the book see the link in my bio: http://tiny.cc/mq2pky