The Start

"His ideas were still in riot; there was ever the pain of memory; the regret for his lost youth-yet the waters of disillusion had left a deposit on his soul, responsibility and a love of life, the faint stirring of old ambitions and unrealized dreams... He stretched out his arms to the crystalline, radiant sky. "I know myself," he cried, "but that is all.”" - F. Scott Fitzgerald, This Side of Paradise

It is here I contradict that the inevitable something must end--not with a bang--but a whisper. I've found myself deconditioned to the schedule I have followed these last 15 years of school. Internally, I've accepted not waking up at six AM to go to class until two, and to work thereafter. I've adjusted to this unruled summer lifestyle in a way that's almost vaporous. Just an imputable poof to my known self and everything's different. And you see, I have a tendency to reject sudden change, so my feeling at eased by this difference is... confusing.

While graduation isn't officially until this coming Friday, prom marked the final attending day of classes. And I'd been living for prom for months, contemplating what I'd wear and how I'd wear it, giving myself enough room for spontaneity so I wouldn't bore myself by the time prom arrived. It provided the chance for everyone to cash in those bragging rights they kept stored throughout high school, and for me, was an all-in event. I just love the idea that everyone had the chance to put forward what they believed to be their best self, collecting all that they love in the fabric they wear. I knew I wanted a statement--no, a siren call. My idea of an appropriate scandal. To make sure I'd wear something memorable, I found a dressmaker to custom create this piece. It hardly needed to be lavished. And so, a single pair of drop earrings did the trick, hand-cut by the talented Anna Raimondo from material curated in South Africa. The pieces needed to express a vivid history of crafted care. They needed to be pieces I could use to inspire my own self. Here I was, wrapping myself in a way so carefully I could still be exposed. I couldn't let myself down to the expectations of the night. The colors, the music, the company--all a beautiful explosion from the collective comfort of small-town schooling to the dispersion of lives leading separate ways.


Custom Made gown, Smith Jewellery African Violet Earrings, Zara leather sandals, Vintage gold rings