by Larissa Veronica Heather, ’26
Olympus OM-4T, 50mm, 2022

Major: Game Studies and eSports BA, English BA

“I Don’t Want to Grow Up” is one art piece from a project I completed at the end of my high school senior year entitled, “A Senior’s Thoughts.”

A senior’s mind is complex and cluttered during the last year of their high school career. The pressure of having to pick what you will do for the rest of your life at the age of 17, is a decision that many students struggle with. I decided to create art based upon the idea of “A Senior’s Thoughts.” The project focused on things that I had thought about throughout my graduating year. Being scared of the unknown, not being happy, and rejection are all feelings that should be normalized, but barely get talked about in school. My goal was to normalize the fear that comes with growing up, and making big decisions.

Originally inspired by my teacher’s work, who had shown me her darkroom prints, which had writing on top of the image. I experimented with acetate to create my own piece. For this particular piece, I experimented with acetate and darkroom filters to get the piece that I envisioned.