I sat and studied this photo. I liked it. Not just because the color and lighting was phenomenal, but because it was me. Well, me minus the glasses, hiding the braces, and , well, happy. I wasn’t happy often. It was taken on the last day of Sophomore year. I had just gotten Dan’s phone number and hastily jotted on my hand. I went to tell my BFF Sara that I had finally done it, I asked him! And she snapped this picture, but not before I had time to hide my braces. I didn’t want them in the image. I had a light in my eyes. I had hope.
Since then, over the summer, my life has fallen apart. My grandmother passed, making my plans for summer camp dissolve into nothingness. I stayed in my room for weeks while my parents argued over how to handle grandma’s estate. All of my friends left town for fun summer destinations, as well as Dan, who is not a writer, caller, or computer savy, so all of the “yeah’s” and “okay’s” are really not giving me a good vibe about the strength of our relationship. I was happy…once.