The Film That Changed My Life
Names have been changed. I was 12. She was 14. I’m 17 now, and two years doesn’t seem like such a big gap, but at the end of that summer Thea was going into high school while I was still a middle schooler. We met on a production of Little Women at a theater camp […]
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Taylor Swift: Vulnerability and Power
One of my first memories is watching Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me” music video on MTV. I was 4 and my sister was 3. On the screen, a blonde girl wrote notes to her friend in her bedroom window and sang, “She wears short skirts, I wear T-shirts…” The reserved girl who doesn’t wear […]
Read MoreMaking Joy
When I walk into the printmaking studio, the creaky wood-paneled floors give away my entrance. The studio appears dilapidated, with pipes exposed from an open ceiling, and I hear every other person’s footsteps and children screaming in the distance, but at this point it’s like a second home to me. Smelling the strong scent of […]
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Frame by Frame: Love in Motion
I sat at the kitchen table with my hand planted on a flower print cloth as my aunt, Tanti Sadjo, prepared couscous, my favorite meal, for my birthday party. I watched in awe as she mixed the grains in a large silver bowl, ensuring that each grain was coated with the perfect amount of sauce. Once […]
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