Vanessa, thirty-five, had three children with an abusive husband. She “lost her mind, started doing heroin”, after losing the children, who were taken away and given to her mother. The drugs led to homelessness and prostitution. She grew up on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, but now spends her time in Hunts Point, “trying to survive everyday. Just doing whatever it takes”.

An Olympic Airways airplane stands on the premises of the former Athens International airport, Hellenikon June 16, 2014. For about six decades Hellenikon was Athens' only airport but it closed down in 2001 to make way for a newer, more modern airport before the city hosted the 2004 Olympic Games. After languishing for years as a wasteland of crumbling terminals, Hellenikon is set for resurrection as a glitzy coastal resort. Lamda Development, controlled by Greece's powerful Latsis family and leading a consortium of Chinese and Abu-Dhabi based companies, has big dreams for the area since signing a 915 million euro deal for a 99-year lease in March 2014. (Photo by Yorgos Karahalis/Reuters)

In this photo taken Tuesday, February 2, 2016, asylum seekers gather round a fire as they cook a meal overlooking the temporary Altnes camp refugee camp on the island of Seiland, northern Norway. Waiting for their asylum claims to be processed, hundreds of people in emergency shelters in Hammerfest and neighboring towns are slowly getting used to the extreme climate and unfamiliar customs of the High North. They say they have adapted to the cold – the temperature rarely drops below minus 10 degrees C (14 F) along the coast, though it gets much colder further inland. It’s the darkness that throws them off. (Photo by Alastair Grant/AP Photo)

People don’t realize how much our exterior can affect our mood. If we make ourselves smile, we might feel a little better, yet if we frown, we soon get the irresistible urge to listen to Blues and weep over the days long gone. The same goes for our clothing. Many people, especially the elderly, tend to dress in the same old rags, without ever feeling the need to change something about their appearance. However, as Cue Qozop clearly demonstrates in his Spring – Autumn photoset, clothes can completely alter the appearance and the mood of the wearer. Elderly people dressed in young people’s clothes look much younger and happier. They look as if they are full of vigor and are about to set out on an amazing adventure.

In this photo taken on Friday, July 14, 2017, a student at a paramilitary camp for children calls the rank to attention outside Kiev, Ukraine. As the deadly conflict in eastern Ukraine entered its third year, some parents in Ukraine are anxious to make sure their children are ready to fight it, instead of swimming and playing volleyball. (Photo by Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo)

It is said that Torajans are people who “live to die”. For this Indonesian ethnic group, funerals are such extravagant events that they sometimes attract tourists. Families can postpone burials years (and the deceased are considered sick and hosted at home until the funeral) until the family can raise enough money and gather as many relatives as possible. And then it’s a jubilant multiday social event with a parade, dances and animal sacrifices. Agung Parameswara photographed these funerary practices when he traveled to South Sulawesi province, where the Torajans live. (Photo by Agung Parameswara/The Washington Post)

Roof-topping enthusiast Daniel Lau takes a selfie with high-rise buildings down below as he stands on the top of a skyscraper in Hong Kong, China on August 15, 2017. A craze that began in Russia has now taken hold in Hong Kong, one of the world's most vertical cities. Mr Lau said he had been inspired by Russian climbers and that he was unafraid of the vertiginous heights he scales. (Photo by ImagineChina/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Personal trainer Antonietta Orsini carries out an exercise class for her neighbours from her balcony while Italians cannot leave their homes due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Rome, Italy, March 18, 2020. (Photo by Remo Casilli/Reuters)