I took a poll on my Instagram stories a week ago to see if anyone would be interested in a blog about some of the first photos I made. I was 8 years old with my dads canon AE1 (which I still have and still shoot with). All but one person said they were interested (sorry if you're reading this Justin P. much like this last election, your vote didn't matter).

The thing that struck me most about going through these photographs is how little has changed in my process. At 8 years old I photographed the girls close to me. Samantha, the girl I photographed with a homemade backdrops was a friend from school, and Latoya who I photographed around her home was my best friend & next door neighbor in Tacoma. While the majority of the photos aren't well composed and I obviously hadn't mastered shooting with manual settings or recognizing good light, for an 8 year old its not much different from what I do now. That realization renewed my belief that giving a camera to a kid can make a huge difference.

Anyway, I hope you all like our new site! We've been regrouping, refreshing and rebranding the last few weeks. For months, I have been wondering which direction Rabbit Hearted Girls would head after this year and what aspects of what we were doing worked and which ones didn't. I find it kind of funny that many of those answers came to me in an old box of photographs from 8 year old Alicia.

I am a rabbit hearted girl
pride myself on my periphery
not made for the trees
light feet
Stomp loud
in the boroughs
run free
my eyes see
all around me
behind me & in front of me
heart beats fast
learning to breathe slowly
ready to run swiftly
Can hear the rain before the storm
the clouds whispers
“leap”
trust your speed

What terrifies?
experiments made on
hearts that fit into cages.
Glowing eyes
that can’t cry
peer out intent to capture.
Teeth that make me a meal.
That is the order of things
my feet dangle from key rings
served on a plate
for a price each week
I am a feast

Sunday Poetry: Rabbit Hearted Girl