V

This is just a glimpse into what the average Valentine’s Day looks like for two lesbians ❤️ Coffee, burgers, and Nine Inch Nails?? Dyke activities over here. Either way, I’m so glad I got to spend it with my girl. Seeing her dance and sing to music she loves was the highlight of my Valentine’s Day. And being some 50 feet away from Trent Reznor in THE PIT was another highlight I must say… Getting into the pit was unexpected. We got photographed by the tour media team (which was very nice), and struck up some conversation about getting into media and photography for big names. A little later we were about to head into the section for our seats when they found us again and asked if we’d like to go into the pit for free. I was a tad hesitant but we winded up in there anyway, and I do NOT regret it. We also ended up on the Nine Inch Nails official Instagram page 😛 This was my first concert! I’m so glad I got to see a familiar artist and experience it with my favorite person. Happy Valentine’s Day ❤️

2025 Recap, Some Highlights from Every Month: January: Embraced a new hairstyle after 13 years of having the same hair; my girlfriend did my goth makeup February: Celebrated my mom’s birthday; had my first Valentine’s Day date with Tarrae March: Watched Re-Animator; interviewed my mom; treated Tarrae to dinner at my old job April: Shot a film about Edgar Allan Poe (and impressed my professor); Tarrae’s birthday; learned more about my creative self May: Helped Tarrae move back home; celebrated Mother’s Day, worked an insane 12 hour shift June: Got a girlfriend (Tarrae)! Pride Month; annual Oscar Wilde bar trip July: Went down the shore; my 19th birthday; sold jewelry at two markets; annual long weekend with mom and brother August: Saw Weapons with Tarrae; went to Rockaway and Denville with Tarrae; enacted a lot of emotional resilience September: Sleepy Hollow Street Fair; became a host at my old job; started feeling better overall October: Lesbian contest at school; did Halloween drag; dressed up as AppleJack November: Had a cute coffee shop and restaurant date; Thanksgiving; helped my mom with her birthday photoshoot December: End of the semester; MET Museum with Tarrae; Christmas outing with family; Christmas; 6 months with Tarrae; brother’s birthday This year was absolutely insane. I’ve never been broken down and built back up so much. Despite that all, I’ve been granted many blessings, some very wonderful people walked into my life, and I’ve learned so much about myself and have become so emotionally strong. I’m grateful for all the experiences I’ve had for they’ve all taught me highly valuable lessons. I’m grateful for all the people around me and everything they’ve taught me so far too. I’m grateful all around and am both nervous and excited for 2026. Mostly excited though. I’m ready for all the good things to come to me ❤️

Met a celebrity in slide one 😛 And the medieval era obsession from 4th grade came back. Very much needed museum trip, albeit for a school assignment but nothing beats a chilly city day spent inside a warm museum with her ❤️

You read him in high school, but now he’s back from the dead and he’s…wearing eyeliner?? 💜 Introducing Eddy All-Heaux, a little drag persona I came up with based off of Edgar Allan Poe, because, of course. Would it be me if I didn’t base a drag persona off of Poe? This is my “second” time “doing drag.” The first time I did it was rather unofficial, since I just drew on a mustache, gelled back my hair, and dressed in a suit to play the part of Edgar Allan Poe in the film I did about him for school. I guess in a way that IS drag, but this time I did all of those same things with the intention of portraying a persona. The makeup this time around leans more traditional goth. I’ve never done this kind of makeup before, nor have I worn this much makeup before (including false lashes), but for my first time I’m not too mad about it. Thank you to Tarrae for taking the photos and putting up with me while putting on false lashes for me 💜. I feel like the outfit is lacking in a sense because this is how I’d dress out of drag, so if I really want to bring Eddy All-Heaux to life, I’m gonna have to step up my wardrobe game for him. We were supposed to go to an event in these get-ups, but once we saw the vibe was not it, we decided to abandon it and do a photoshoot instead…on campus…at night. Many eyes were looking and while that would make me nervous otherwise, in drag I felt like somebody else and like that somebody else is untouchable. I’d like to credit my drag inspirations @phoebejeebiesnyc and @gloria_swansong for not only inspiring the creation of this persona, but also inspiring the confidence to do this. Back in June at the Oscar Wilde bar I showed them photos of my “drag” for my Poe film, so now here is that same drag…but different ✨ I had lots of fun as Eddy and I think I’ll bring him back because I still need to develop his personality and his style. I also need to get better at the makeup overall. And I need to get a really good white face paint…

Went to the performative lesbian contest and just showed up as myself 🤷‍♀️ My school hosted a performative lesbian contest and you best believe I was in attendance as a competitor. It was very fun to compete but it was even more fun seeing the overwhelmingly large gathering of lesbians and queer folks in one area, especially at school. All of the folks who went up were so nice and I loved chatting with them while waiting in line to “perform.” It’s events like these that boost queer pride and bring the community even closer together. I heard people got dates out of this event! I don’t know the two hosts, but thank you to them for hosting something like this. I hope there will be more in the future. Okay, enough of being sappy. I had so much fun at this event with my girlfriend, this is like one of THE gayest things we’ve ever done 🌟. Thank you to @ray._violett and @gggwenythhh for taking these photos! And thank you to my absolutely wonderful, beautiful, darling Tarrae for letting me borrow your shirt that stunned the crowd 💜. What the shirt says is true!! I showed up as MYSELF! My lesbian self! Dyke English teacher reporting for duty 🫡

Pride 2025 🏳️‍🌈 A very Wild(e) Pride indeed. Started it off by seeing “The Importance of Being Earnest” at the Shakespeare Theater and then kept the four-year tradition strong by attending drag queen brunch at @oscarwildenyc . I also went to Montclair Pride this year for the first time and it rained but at least I got to debut my little DIY lesbian outfit ✨ Every Pride Month that goes by I’m reminded of how amazing the LGBTQIA+ community truly is. In the face of hardship we always come out stronger. Sometimes I get caught up in how scary the times we’re living in are, but indulging in the works of a queer playwright, joining folks in the rain to celebrate, and seeing two drag queens whom I greatly admire really heals the soul. I find immense comfort and inspiration in the spirit of this community. I’m very proud to be who I am and I wouldn’t change it for the world. Happy Pride. You’re loved 🫶

Some life things recently (mostly cameras and film equipment, just the way I like it). Featuring my reagent-turnt cat at the end 🖤

Hair appreciation post 🖤 I got my hair cut back in January and instead of getting a regular trim, I decided to get a new hairstyle. I’d been sporting the same long frizzy hair in a pony tail for the past thirteen years, so I decided that now was finally the time to switch things up. I showed the stylist pictures of curtain bangs with face framing layers and boom now I have new hair 🙏 It’s not a drastic change because my hair is still long and pretty much 100% virgin, but I’m very happy about this because I’d been wearing my hair the same way since I was five years old—until now. The last slide is a throwback to what my hair looked like before (it IS a screen capture from my film but don’t mind that). Maintaining this hair style is a little weird because I can’t throw it up into a pony tail since the layers are so short. I also don’t know how to style my hair with products and tools, but my mom is teaching me whenever she styles it for me. I’d always had a strange relationship with my hair. I used to hate it because of how frizzy it was, and I also used to love it because it was long and thick. However, within the past two years or so, I’d begun to have thoughts about trying something new because the fuckass ponytail wasn’t doing it for me anymore. And now I like being able to rake my fingers through the front pieces of my hair and push my bangs back ☆

First college semester, done. Well I have one week left but it’s finals week, that doesn’t count. I am SO glad this semester is over. This semester really had me questioning if this college stuff is for me…and it’s only my first semester of college. Yeah, safe to say this semester hit me like a truck. While I hated my college experience for the most part this semester, I did have some fun, and the fun I had is pictured here. I’m glad I finally got my hands on a film camera and shot my first ever film (that literally sucked the life out of me, I still haven’t recovered from that, I’m being so for real). Also shoutout to my filmmaking professor, great first introduction to the Montclair film department ☝️ I’m looking forward to winter break because after this semester, god knows I need it. Hopefully things get a bit easier as the semesters roll on, or at least I become a little more tolerable. In all seriousness, I’m grateful for the experiences I had. I’m just glad they’re over 🙏

On top of the world 🏙️🩵 Two weeks ago I worked a double shift and then woke up ass early the next day to go to Summit One Vanderbilt and it was very worth it—and very needed. I can go to NYC when I feel like shit and return home like I was fine the entire time. It’s like stepping into a whole new dimension every time I go to the city. I crave my occasional dose of the city at times and luckily I was able to satisfy that craving and be on top of the world for a while. The black booties make the outfit so tough you can’t tell me otherwise 🗣️

𝑺𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝑵𝒐. 1, 📍𝑨𝒍𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒐 I was going to wait until I got home to start posting about Sicily, but I figured I should start now because I know I’ll be exhausted when I return home. The first part of this trip started in Alcamo. We stayed at an AirB&B for a few days that quite literally had the beach as its backyard. I’m not the biggest beach person but having the beach as your backyard for a few days? Come on now. These are only some of the flicks I took at the beach. There’s tons more but these are my favorite, I think. I would definitely return to Alcamo and explore some more. Beautiful views, nice people, breezy shore, and Italian Fanta 🍷

Happy Pride Month 🏳️‍🌈 What an eventful month it’s been. It flew by way faster than I expected, and I didn’t get to savor it as much as I hoped. A lot happened this month, from receiving awards, to receiving scholarships, to prom, to final performances, to graduating high school—all in the month of Pride. All of the school related things definitely kept me from thoroughly enjoying Pride Month, but I did get to have a final hurrah at my favorite New York City restaurant, the Oscar Wilde Bar. This is the third time I’ve gone for Pride and the second time I’ve gone to see Drag Brunch. However, I was so invested in celebrating my graduation there (that’s why I’m pictured in my garb and cords) that I didn’t get to savor the Pride aspect as much. Regardless, the drag queens I look forward to seeing every year helped me get in the Pride mindset and made the afternoon all the more enjoyable. Despite being absolutely swamped with school (funny, because you think it’d be less stressful towards the end—but it’s not), I tried to enjoy Pride Month every opportunity I got. Whether that was dressing in ways that made me feel confident, drawing Pride art, investing more into my queer characters, slaying a little too close to the sun and breaking two Pride fans (I need to replace those), or overall just being proud of who I am and how far I’ve come in the life-long process of discovering myself—I seized every opportunity. I know next Pride Month will be a little less stressful since I won’t have to deal with nearly as much as I had to this time around. I enjoyed myself, I have to say, school-wise and Pride-wise, and if I could experience it all again, I would. As each year passes and as I go through each Pride Month, I find myself becoming increasingly more proud of myself and the LGBTQ+ community. Despite all the hardship this community faces, we come out stronger. Love wins. Pride is forever. Happy Pride Month 🏳️‍🌈