Brayden Brown, 21, lives a complicated life. Raised in Boonville, she left Missouri for just a few months after high school before returning to her hometown – a place for her filled with painful, yet powerful relationships. Though she speaks of going to college someday, for now she works overnights at the local Wal-Mart and cleans her grandmother’s house on her days off for extra income. She supports herself and her fiancé, Chase Jackson, 20, while he has been unemployed in recent months.

Brayden’s life is filled with struggle that includes recovery from a traumatic car accident and family strife. “I honestly don’t know what keeps me going,” she says, “I think it’s the fear of disappointing people.”