These are probably my favorite nude photos, taken in one of my absolutely favorite places on Earth — the Hoh Rain Forest in Washington State. It’s the quietest place in the U.S. and the only true rainforest in the country. I find myself returning in thought to this magical forest every day.

I know it might sound strange, but sometimes I pleasure myself while reliving the feelings I had walking there naked, surrounded by nature. I was there last summer, just before my deportation — maybe that’s why these memories feel even more intense, charged with emotion.