[trans]

┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────┐

name; rosita katherine monticello
gender; trans girl (she/her)
hobby; photography has always been rosita's passion in life. when the days grew dull and times got rough for her and her family, rosita took solace in the comfort of her photos, the living proof of all the good in her life and the experiences she'd collected up until this point. photography has given rosita a sense of purpose, a passion in life to pursue, and a way to connect to the father she never really knew.

extra; ==> Rosita: Look at some photos on your camera.

08/27/98, IMG 1142

It's your first time in the city. You've never been to any city before, much less one so important. You're nervous, but you're also really excited. You can't wait to meet people, to make friends, to finally.. Feel like you have somewhere you belong. Like you have a home. Your mom is busy, busy busy busy, unpacking and trying to find a job and on top of it all, trying to feed you both in the in betweens. You wish she'd take a rest, but you don't think she'd listen to you, would tell you, "I can't, I gotta finish this. I love you so much, but I gotta do this. I have to. and then she'd be right back to working and working and working herself tired.

You sit on a bench you found while exploring, and you try to imagine a time where your mother won't have to work herself to death, where everything is okay and neither your mother nor yourself have to worry or stress about if you'll even keep your house for the week.

You have trouble envisioning it, but the thought makes you smile, and you feel the urge to document the moment. To.. Savor it. To preserve it. You get out your camera just as a large accordion tour bus passes by, and you quickly snap a photo of the scene, the bench looking as undisturbed as it had before you'd sat down on it.

08/31/99, IMG 1149

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it." ─ Steve Jobs

01/22/01, IMG 1568

You've always loved carnivals, The lights, the smells, the food, the rides─you loved it all. It was one of the few places you truly felt at ease, and whenever the opportunity presented itself, you grabbed it quick as a whip and went.

The ferris wheel is your favorite. Tall and brooding, creaking with age and worn by time, like a monotone figure of stability and thought. It provoked you to reflect, provoked the nostalgia to stir deep inside you, and you sigh in content as you walk into one of the carts and wait for other to join.

The wheel starts, and you feel your stomach drop out of habit. The few bits of hair that fell out of your headband earlier or you forgot to tuck in when you'd left the house whip around like unruly shoe laces, and you shield your face with your hands while you stare out of the car, the sunset over the city your view.

The colors blend, mix, and muddle into each other, creating new colors and old colors and colors born out of nature's love. You reach for your camera─you can't believe you have it, but you're glad you do─and you snap a picture of the scene.

The end result was well worth the wait in line.

05/02/02, IMG 1272

"Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you." ─ Walt Whitman

08/23/01, IMG 1018

The Firefly Festival is a monumentous spring-time occasion you, and many others in the city, would not dare to miss.

It's gorgeous, it's a splendid display of firefly decor and flowers and pretty lights that remind you a lot of the fairy string lights in your room, and you grin as you walk through the dirt paths passing through the festival's main area, your camera at the ready.

You've taken some pictures before, but you really want to find one that makes the whole trip worthwhile in your mind. The hunt for the picture perfect photo has been more challenging than you originally thought however.

If only...

Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness, that's perfect!

You're quick as a flash to set up your camera to the right angle and get the flash turned on, and you snap what you feel is your best picture yet.

It's a view of the sky, a bright blue, covered in near-transparent clouds that seem to sap the color right from the sky's radiant shade and take it on for their own forms. The regal and royal blues are captivating, even in photo, and you squeal to yourself in delight as you head back the way you came to find your mother. You have to show her this immediately!

03/14/99, IMG 1541

"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination." ─ Jimmy Dean

09/27/03, IMG 1913

Your father always loved photography─that's what your mother and grandparents had told you since day one. He could never get enough of the satisfaction of a well-taken photo, and he never left anywhere without his camera, waiting for the perfect moment to fall into his hands and earn himself a beautiful photograph.

Your grandmother likes to say you take after him lot. You try not to think about it much.

You've never met him before, don't even have many photos of him. You only have a few from your mother and a few more from your extended family. Apparently, the man who loved to take pictures didn't take so many of himself.

She likes to say you got your camera shyness from him, says he never really liked being photographed himself, would always lean away or his photos would end up blurry because he tried to leave.

You don't know how to feel about it.

04/22/03, IMG 1876

Caption: "Happy Earth Day! Remember to spread the love not just to Earth, but to those around you too! 🌱🌹🍀🌎"

11/15/00, IMG 1174

"Let us make our future now, and let us make our dreams tomorrow's reality." ─ Malala Yousafzai

└───────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

art;
- ☁ by myself
- ☁ by ☁ Basket Case ☁
- ☁ by FireflyStars
- ☁ by elijah who
- ☁ by xXMadBunsXx