Arlene Plata is a freelance photographer from Long Beach (Instagram: @plata.photo) and the mother of a cat named Frida. She loves writing for fun, but her goal is to *finally* complete her BA in English.
Seventeen
sitting on the concrete outside of Jack in the Box it’s mid-April you look like a girl but you sit like a boy (mom always said) your arms resting on your knees, your feet apart it’s sunny and warm but you’re wearing a black zip-up hoodie over your polka-dot tank top you’re busy concealing your arms yet the cup of your bra is slightly exposed and you’re making that dumb face where you scrunch up your nose and stick out your tongue – it’s that face you make whenever you’re uncomfortable you’re uncomfortable ‘cause you’re usually the one taking pictures but your friend takes your camera (a lifetime later, you’re extremely grateful) and you’re uncomfortable ‘cause the guy you were in love with just called you boring annoying and weird, and worse, not to your face you’re twice that age now and you think you’d be over it, but remembering still makes your stomach turn and some things don’t change, you still make that face and you laugh at the fact that you always felt fat but you were ok you still take pictures and you’re still kind of weird but you’re ok Life is ok
