The idea behind my self-portrait as my alter-ego is more of a connection back to my younger self and a continuation of an aspect of her that doesn’t really exist much anymore. I used to be quite the reader, considering I got through the Harry Potter series in kindergarten and almost skipped 2nd grade because of it, but my mother decided to stay put to protect my social life. I didn’t have much of that at the time, but looking back, I can see where skipping a grade early on could have severely affected my life later down the line. I eventually became more focused on school and friends than on reading, and it became a chore more than anything else. That is why my alter-ego is a reader. She’s one of those cool girls you see sitting in a coffee shop alone with her nose buried in a book, because that is someone I almost was. Though I wouldn’t want to fully be her, she is an aspect of my life that I wish I still had.

I chose to pose with Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, one of the few books I read for pleasure during my years in high school. Most of the reading I did at the time was for school, but this book soon became a favorite of mine when I read it in the summer between sophomore and junior year. Its presence in this photo is to represent all of the books that could have been my favorite if only I dedicated my time to reading them.