Sunny The Kid - An Exploration Of My Inner Child
I was afraid of growing up
When I would watch cartoons as a kid the characteristic of being an adult from my perspective was very much so suit and tie, bills, taking care of children, enforcing rules-being a buzz kill, lack of mobility, back pain, nice sized house with a backyard, no fun, lack of creativity, no dreams or aspirations without the influence of money, lack of understanding the younger generation, and etc. I would tell myself that I wouldn’t be like that. I would still have fun and do the things that bring me joy, and still play hide and seek or tag, which to me, the adult version of that is laser tag. It’s so funny because when I take grocery store trips with my friends now I’ll do this thing where I’ll just start speedwalking away and hide from them but it got old kind of quick cause I wouldn’t be able to find my way back to them as they weren’t gonna tolerate my games and just shop as normal people do.
College Was The Best Experience Of My Life-Even though I dropped out
What a header! But yes, as much as college was stressful it was also the place where I met many lifelong friends who share some of the same childish characteristics as I do. I remember doing research on schools for film and came across UNCSA. The mascot believe it or not was the Fighting Pickle, and I knew this place was going to be the one for me. The friends I made here get hyped about Spongebob as much as I do. For example, we all got together to watched the Superbowl only because we thought Spongebob was going to perform at the halftime show, and when he didn’t we turned it off and watched a live-action Disney film that I forgot the name of.
What the people around me think of my inner child
I remember this one time when I told my dad I was going trick or treating with my little cousins and his response was “aren’t you a little too old for that” or something in-between the lines. Mind you I was around 12-13 maybe even 14. I felt personally attacked because I feel like there’s no age limit to spending quality time with your family. Of course, if I was incredibly older like 45 I would assist the little ones, as they get candy and not really participate, but knowing myself I would still gather my older friends, dress up, and eat a bunch of candy-which people do “Halloween Parties”.
The dating scene is funny for me. On the first date with my boyfriend at the moment, I was genuinely myself. I think I was 19 at the time and we went to the movies (rip) to see Toy Story 4 because I love animated films, and in fact every now I then I watch Shrek 2 which is kind of a comforting place for me if I’m ever feeling down. Anyway…the seats were recliners and there were buttons on the side that you can press to recline back, so I would press his buttons literally and maybe metaphorically throughout the movie which was so funny to me. A couple of farts, awkward stares, deep conversations, and laughs later we became really close and hung out more. (yayyy) The story doesn’t always end up like this one did in the past though. Sometimes I got a feeling of being annoying, which is completely understandable, and I had to learn to not take it personally that sometimes people just won’t click with you and it has nothing to do with you…its just how it is.
The Actual Shoot
This shoot did not take days or weeks of planning. I was filming bts for a very talented friend Deja Proctor for her editorial-style photoshoot. After it was all done we grabbed some delicious pizza from Nancy’s Pizzeria and parted ways. It was such a wonderful day, and I didn’t want to end it there. I felt inspired and I really wanted to do a self-portrait. My outfit was very kidlike to me, with the colors, the overalls, and especially the yellow belt which is one of my favorite colors. I knew it had to be done at a park, and on a swing. Swings are the first thing I got to at a park, I’ve always loved them. My grandad would push me so high I could feel my stomach get all weird like when you ride rollercoasters. It’s just a freeing feeling almost like you’re flying in the air when you reached the highest you could go. The setup was simple, my camera a Nikon D3400, a tripod, and a remote that signals the camera to take the picture. It took multiple tries, some cardio to be able to run to the slide before the timer went off, and lots of Lysol to disinfect my phone, equipment, and any door handles I touched inside the house before I washed my hands. The editing process had to enhance the colors I had on, and also have a feeling of nostalgia. I stayed up till about 12am to finish editing everything. Overall, I'm so happy with how they turned out, and what these images represent! If you’d like to get the backstory for more of my shoots, or updates on possible specials on shoots, you can subscribe down below.