Lori — See Me Because

My name is Lori. I'm 16 years old. I use she/her pronouns. My mom is German and Irish, and my dad is Black. I grew up in Mooresville, Indiana, which is a small, secluded town surrounded by fields and forests. I moved to Milwaukee a few years ago.

My early childhood was kind of nice. I grew up in a trailer park and a lot of the kids my age, their parents were just like my parents, going through a tough time. So the children and the teenagers in the trailer park would come together and take care of each other. I remember this one boy named Joe. Everybody knew Joe. He was really kind. His family would cook and bake for everybody. They had the biggest trailer in the trailer park. Every single day all the kids would go over to Joey's house. His grandparents took care of everyone.

I know a lot of my family on my mom's side, including my grandparents who were in the military.

I’ve lived with my mom most of my life. My mom is a really good artist. When we celebrated holidays at school, she would have me go into class with these big posters for the teacher to hang up. The teacher didn't ask her. She didn't need to. And when my Nana was still alive, we would cook and bake in the kitchen with her. We’d go outside to pick blueberries and blackberries.

My mom had a rough childhood and she lost a lot of people. She turned to alcohol and didn't really have a stable financial or emotional life. One night, she thought I called the police on her boyfriend. She decided to kick me out. Even though my dad was in a different state, he came that same night to get me. He got me new clothes. I finally started doing my hair and taking showers. I really appreciate him for that.

My dad inspires me, even though we don't always have the same beliefs. I like his determination and work ethic. I know that he had a rough childhood. He was an orphan and then had an adopted family. His family didn’t have bad intentions, but they weren't the best of people. He brought himself up, working and building his life from the ground up. I’m really proud of him for that. He was able to own a house, become a landlord, get married, and have children. He has an overwhelming urge to protect his family. I like his honesty and his humor. I hold those characteristics dear to me.

I’ve met a lot of people who tried to push their beliefs on me. And then when I lost everything, I started realizing what was important to me and what I needed emotionally, so I started surrounding myself with people that genuinely loved and cared about me, and I started changing my perspective. I don't surround myself with people who are too judgmental or close minded. I don't like people who put others down and don’t see how that impacts other people. I don't want to hurt people's feelings. I try my best to get along with everybody because there's no real reason for me to hate anyone. My friend says I'm too kind to everyone, but I would rather love everyone before I know them, than treat them with hatred before I meet them.

When you're born into your family, that is love they are obligated to give you. Sometimes they're closed-minded, and you can't always tell them everything that makes you happy, or how you actually think or feel. When you surround yourself with friends who are like you, who think like you, they're more willing to listen to you, be there for you, and love you without obligation. Platonic love is real love based on trust and loyalty, like a chosen family. Friends go out of their way to make you happy or be there for you when you need them. They're able to express how much they love you. The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.

I think people see me as outgoing and compassionate. They know I get along with people well and I'm good at communicating. A lot of people have told me that I have my life together for someone my age. I really appreciate when people say that to me, because sometimes I see other people my age and they're not mentally well or they are unhappy, and may surround themselves with people that aren't good for them.

I see myself as an optimistic person and I don't try to bring others down. I do somewhat believe in the Golden Rule, being paid back in the afterlife for all the good deeds or the bad deeds that we've done. I spend every day trying to make up for my mistakes by being nice to my family, my friends, and strangers. My first interaction with a person is always out of love. This unconditional love for people is expressed through my art. Even the colors I choose can have super secret meanings. I want people to see how much they mean to me through my art and I want strangers and passersby to see how much those people mean to me too. I know a lot of people look in the mirror every day and they don't see what’s special about them, but I want them to see how special they are to me.

My art mediums are photorealism, photography, and ceramics. I want to get better at acrylic painting and oil pastels. My favorite artist is Lucien Freud, a British painter. I really like his art because you can see his paint strokes. I put music on and sit there for hours, getting into the zone and doing exactly what I need to do, picking out every flaw and fixing it, you know? You can really make anything with photorealism. It’s inspiring. Making art is peaceful and focused. Sometimes it takes days or weeks. People love art, but a lot of times they don't quite understand how long it actually takes to make. People come up with new things every day and it's beautiful.

My biggest goal for my future is to help people in any way that I can. I don't want to ever be too greedy. I want to use my life for the better because I don't have a lot of time. I want people to look at me and know that I'm trying to change the world for the better, that I want my life to have a good impact on people. When people see me in their history books, they’re gonna be like, “Oh, that’s a cool gal right there.”

I’m proud of myself for being where I am right now. I think I'm weighing my life correctly: school, work and my free time. I want to be independent. I know where I'm going. I want a backstory that I can tell my kids someday. I don't want to be stuck doing one thing. I want to go to college, maybe be an artist and actor and a cultural anthropologist. Maybe become a nun or a bartender. I want to do everything and be everything.

Milwaukee, 2024