It's a miracle Arnold DeSena is alive today. Arnold, a real estate agent originally from New York, was in a motorcycle accident in 2019 that nearly claimed his life. Not only did he code three times, but he spent eight months in the hospital recovering. The accident left him fully paralyzed from the chest down, and he uses a wheelchair to get around.

Despite the setbacks and figuring out life in his new normal, Arnold came away from the situation with a new outlook on life and a desire to inspire some change.

"While I was in the hospital, I died three times," Arnold says. "I would cry when a friend or family member visited, knowing there was a real chance I wouldn't see that person again. And then after I got out of the hospital, we went into the COVID-19 pandemic. Social media had so much negativity, so I decided I would be the change I wanted to see in social media."

Arnold created an Instagram account called Portraits on Polaroid, and the concept is simple. He takes photos of people he knows or comes in contact with and asks them the question "When you think of home, what comes to mind?" As a REALTOR® for the last 20 years, it's fitting Arnold chose the word "home" to be the focus. When he posts a photo to the Instagram account, the caption captures the answer of the subject.

"Everyone has a different answer," Arnold explains. "I picked that question because there is no wrong answer, and no one can argue with it. No one can cancel you for what you are thinking."

Arnold shares that the portrait photos were inspired by how grateful he was to see the faces of friends and family when he was in the hospital. The use of Polaroid film is just as strategic as his question: The film is not filtered, because so much of what we see on social media is filtered.

"Polaroids aren't friendly to begin with," Arnold says. "It's not stunning, but when you see the photo, the beauty of the person comes through. I only take one photo of each person, and there are no retakes. I want to capture them as they are. People know I'm taking a portrait of their soul."

Arnold has built up a collection of 130 Polaroids he's taken over the last year. He posts them a couple of times a week, and it allows him to reconnect with someone he might have photographed months ago.

"I may have taken someone's photo at a cookout last summer," Arnold shares. "I may call them up and say, 'You gave me this word. Let's talk about it.' I get to have a meaningful conversation with someone I love, and I get to share that with the people on Instagram. I wanted to see a change in social media and I created it. I am the change I wanted to see."

You can find Arnold on Instagram here: @portraitsonpolaroid