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chris

@topherr4

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straight edge may sound like a passing phase to some, but to me, it has always represented something far greater than simply choosing not to drink or use drugs.

it is a declaration of perseverance, self-worth, and the unwavering belief that no matter what life puts in front of me, i have the strength to face it with a clear mind and an uncompromised sense of self.

i’ve lost family and friends to addiction. i’ve witnessed firsthand how deeply it can run through families and generations. i’ve watched a culture normalize self-destruction, convincing people that numbing their pain is somehow easier than confronting it. we live in a world that encourages us to escape ourselves, that packages temporary relief as happiness and teaches us to mistake detachment for peace.

i refuse to believe that the answer to the weight of being alive is to feel less of it.

to me, straight edge has never been about moral superiority or passing judgment on anyone else’s struggles. it is about reclaiming the power to experience life in its entirety, even when that experience is painful.

i can’t control everything life takes from me. but i can control how i choose to meet those moments. i can choose to feel rather than numb, to confront rather than escape, and to build a life rooted in purpose rather than temporary relief.

xxx. by @topherr4

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2 days ago

moments in colorado and chicago

shot on kodak ultramax 400 and ilford hp5 by @topherr4

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a month ago

kese and emily’s wedding 9/13/26

i met kese when i was a freshman in college. i’ll never forget how we first became friends. we met at the gym after playing basketball and realized we had the same pair of kd Vs, just in different colors. that was in late 2013, and somehow that random moment turned into a friendship that has lasted more than 10 years.

when i met kese, i was honestly wondering if i would ever really make friends in college. then we hit it off almost immediately, and he became one of the closest friends i’ve ever had. some of the people i was lucky enough to have standing next to me as groomsmen at his wedding are people i met because of kese. that says a lot about the kind of person he is and the way he brings people together.

over the years, kese has taught me a lot about friendship. he’s shown me the importance of staying in touch, making people feel included and actually putting effort into the people you care about. even after we graduated from FLC, we’ve stayed in touch every day. life has changed a lot since we first met, but our bond has never changed.

being asked to be a part of kese and emily’s wedding meant a lot to me. getting to stand next to someone who has been such an important part of my life for more than a decade, on one of the biggest days of his life, is something i’ll never take for granted. i feel incredibly lucky to have been there for the beginning of their story and now get to be there as they start this next chapter together.

emily is truly kese’s perfect match. the other half to one of my closest friends. to see my friend light up when emily walks in the room is truly so special. i am so happy that they both found each other in this lifetime. and i am confident that they will find each other in every life after this one.

shot on kodak ultramax 400 and ilford hp5 35mm film. by @topherr4

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a month ago

now all these tastes improve
through the view that comes with you
like they handed me my life
for the first time it felt right

thank you for making me see there’s a life in me
it was dying to get out by @topherr4

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3 months ago

film i never got developed until now (2022-2026)

colorado, philadelphia, chicago by @topherr4

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3 months ago

today i graduated with my master of arts in professional communication from depaul university. i’m incredibly honored to share that i also received the outstanding achievement and leadership in professional communication award from the program and was inducted into depaul university’s chapter of lambda pi eta, the official honor society of the national communication association.

honestly, i’m still struggling to find the right words for what all of this means to me.

six years ago, i moved to chicago without much of a plan, and what followed was six years of being away from my family through a really tumultuous stretch of life. i built a life here, but there was always a weight on my soul with everything going on back home that i couldn’t be there for.

for years, i wanted to return to school and earn my master’s degree, but i convinced myself that my opportunities for higher education had ended after undergrad.

as i was nearing the end of this degree, my father faced a major medical crisis that ultimately led to his leg being amputated. i wasn’t able to be there with him through any of it. i was 2,000 miles away, trying to keep moving forward while facing this enormous guilt.

i’ll never forget what my father told me after surgery. even in that moment, he put me first and told me to stay focused and finish my degree.

so that’s exactly what i did.

completing this degree was the hardest thing i’ve ever done. but i did this for my mom and dad. i did this for my family who couldn’t be there to celebrate with me. i did this for my friends who never wavered in their support. i did it for myself.

if you keep your purpose at the center of what you do and move through life with intention and care, everything else has a way of falling into place.

congratulations to the class of 2026. by @topherr4

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4 months ago

pov you said something negative about coke zero

then it’s just a bunch of photos of me with bevs by @topherr4

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9 months ago

thankful to come home to my thin slice of heaven by @topherr4

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10 months ago

here and there. shot on kodak gold. by @topherr4

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a year ago

dean and blair’s wedding shot on 35mm film (shouldn’t have taken me a year to get these developed) by @topherr4

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a year ago

home for the holidays by @topherr4

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2 years ago

this is as personal as it gets

the war outside and within

happy edge day xxx by @topherr4

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2 years ago