Issuu

A SENSE OF

IDENTITY

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Delving Deeper into

Florida Man

Excerpt from Girl On The Water

More than anything, she wants to be a painting in the Louvre — an oil painting built on rich green forestry or blue stormy water. Nothing monumental like The Coronation of Napoleon or The Wedding at Cana — that would be too much pressure. Something more stabilizing like La Jeune Martyre: The Young Martyr. The girl on the water. Tied up and surrendered. Still, she hadn’t lived enough life to base a movie on. She’s not yet content with living on a wall in a humid museum, being looked at by millions and taken advantage of by flash photography. Her life’s peak is still ahead of her, resting at the rainbow’s end — though in her mind’s eye, the rainbow’s layers are shaded with pencil: metallic, dull, uninviting. Maybe she was crazy... but there was nothing she could do about it. There was no starting over anymore. Silence.

Writing by Jacquie Galvano

photographer: josh owens

models: donovan vandyck, kevin huang, ariel turner, dyonna johnson, riley dauval, annakathryn shelton, ezra yazdanpour, kat davis, mckenna lineberry, riley teagan, ashton colson, and macy macelderry,

directed by: simone wanamaker and desa dragovich assisted by: leslie rodrigue-arroyo, laura gutierrez, and payton muscato

What’s your sign?

res

Taurus

Gemini

Virgo

Cancer

o e

Sagittarius Li

bra

Scorpio

Capricorn

c is

Aquarius

s e

UNMASKED

MELODIES

Starring MUTUAL FRIENDS

Directors LAUREN BAILEY AND JORDYN JAGODA Assistants MAE NAVUDU, BECCA ALIZO, AND IVANA MAJOR Photographers SOPHIE VITAL AND ADRIAN VALDES Beauty SUNNY STEPHAN AND MARISA VERCAMEN Styling ALLYE HAMPSON, ZARA MENDOZA, AND CAROLINE SYMONS Models XAVIER GUEVARA, GRIFFIN NELSON, HARRISON BAKER, AND EMILY SCHROEDER

37 Director: Pearson Cappa Assistants: Daniella Chantra Paula Flores Sabrina Same

CRUISE CONTROL

Photographer: Joey Harbour

Beauty: Marisa Vercamen Daniella Chantra

Styling: Allye Hampson Caroline Symmons Riley Teagan

Models: Emme Berger Marissa Mcketty Rafael Lisboa Sterling Copeland

DIRECTOR: KATE D’AMARIO ASSISTANTS: LEAH CHRISTIE, KIRA CARDILLO, BRIANNA LAPELLA PHOTOGRAPHER: ADRIAN VALDES GRAPHIC DESIGN: TYLER POTTENBURG BEAUTY: MARISA VERCAMEN STYLING: ALLYE HAMPSON MODELS: CARMIN BLISS

CHOOSE YOUR

CHARACTER

CLOTHES ARE A VALUABLE FORM OF SELF-EXPRESSION, ALLOWING US TO SHOWCASE DIFFERENT FACETS OF OUR PERSONALITY AND MOOD

EACH OUTFIT BECOMES A REFLECTION OF A UNIQUE VERSION OF OURSELVES, AND TOGETHER, THESE VERSION SHAPE OUR COLLECTIVE IDENTITY.

FISHERMAN

BED TIME

MUSIC DJ

FISHERMAN

SCHOOL SCHoOL BOY

BED TIME

beauty BEAUTY queen

PARISAN

MUSIC DJ

Delving Deeper into

Choose Your Character

The loading screen flashes brightly against my face. I pretend I don’t care, thinking that will get the game to load faster. At last, the time to make my decision has arrived. The words jump out at me: “Choose Your Character.” Countless options appear all at once. Which one am I? Do I choose the DJ? The free-spirited personality whose goal is to ensure every room has rhythm, every silent moment is filled with sound. The School Boy? The academically determined kid who reflects the shared goal of success, the considerable years spent trying to stick out. The Chic Parisian? The depiction of class, of a life that seems out of reach but so desirable. Do I go with the Homebody? The Fisher? With all these choices placed in front of me, I struggle to make my decision. Must I decide? As I look closely at the screen, I realize that the character I chose is not permanent. It was my own thoughts that led me to believe that once I found what best represented me, I needed to cling to that version of myself as if I weren’t allowed to change. But as I continue to log on every day, I will get to know each character’s tactics, their skills and find a piece of myself among them all. Although they are different, they don’t contradict each other, but rather, they help complete my picture. So, in the end, the question isn’t Who am I? But rather Who am I today?

Writing by Summer Thompson

DIRECTOR: Allye Hampson & Marisa Vercamen ASSISTANTS: Afnan Sam Alhoui & Emily Mccomb PHOTOGRAPHER: Joey Harbour BEAUTY: Marisa Vercamen STYLING: Allye Hampson & Caroline Symons MODELS: Katelyn Ernst & Julia Ernst NAILS: Sarah Awwad

Identity is a circle—with no beginning, no end, no exit. Discourse is inevitable. Two sides, reflections constrained to mirror one another, present a struggle for dominance, for control—though there is space enough to share. Out of fear, judgment, disgrace—a part of me remains hidden, tucked away in the dark, never seen. I resent my instinct to resist vulnerability, to conceal the very sides of me that might be loved, If only they were let into the light. Being reserved became a defense, to preserve myself against those who sought to eat at my mind. Deviation became a comfort, Detachment became a guide, And slowly, as we turned our backs away from one another, the whole of me began to divide.

Perception isn’t the whole truth, but it is

someone's reality. I can't control their thoughts or judgments. They only see what I reveal—so why not reveal it all? Estranged, we are unfamiliar, she fights to be seen, and I fight to keep her hidden, But surely, I would love to understand her, After all, we are two sides of the same coin, To deny her is to deny myself —I understand it now. Comparatively, the difference between us from a bird's eye view is none. I am her, and she is me—opposite ends of the same spectrum. Yet I shun her sometimes, out of habit or shame. But we can coexist. I am sure of it.There’s no need for war within our rounded confinement. Peace can come about when we learn to share.

Elle Borstelmann

The Suit and The Skin

Painting by Carmin Bliss

There's a fabricated universe beneath my tired feet. If I shut my eyes tight enough, the world becomes translucent. My colleagues are my friends, my friends morph into family. I’m a soul in the bush shivering with the frost-ridden trees. Inside my palms lies you; silly and golden to the touch. Or maybe, to cut myself loose, my hands turn into a fine powder and become turbulent with the wind. In this secret place, I’m a writer, a scholar, an artist, and humanity has regained consciousness. Nights are spent conversing, loving, feeling, exchanging, debating. Feeling as if reality is inside the low-lit bar, not beyond it. Our bodies feel loose and excited pressed up against the wooden stools. Vulnerability replaces raw fingernails. Communication substitutes for smoke. Questions beg for answers instead of bare skin. These hallucinations feel more real than my nine-to-five. Then the question gnaws at my insides, raw and rare; what is real and what is just a part of the show? The eyes, ears, and nose staring back at me don’t have an answer. These two pieces of me, infinitely intertwined with one ever-present world perspective, cannot agree on love, passion, fear, or desire. They bicker in the grocery store like an old couple, shout at one another behind closed doors. At times I become completely split in half: One leg. One arm. One hand. One foot...But there is a neutral state; it’s a safe haven for this and that. It comes out in friends, music, travel and truth. This common ground understands, like a mother with a too heavy heart. She explains that there is no right or wrong, only trial and error. As if the glass mends itself, there is not merely a me or a you, but only a crystalized reflection of I.

Writing by Samantha Goldberg

P ROTOTYPE

CAMERA GUY We all aspire to create art and be able to make it apart of our identity. For some, art is an escape or a hobby, for others it’s the dream career. But, have you ever asked yourself, “How much do I want art to represent my identity?” Holy !#@%. I present the most 1st world problem to you all but it’s for good reason. I found myself in a very peculiar situation, I’m at the point in my visual art career that I’m only approached and “known” for my work. How is this an issue? It’s a good problem to have I guess, but for me I felt that i’m only registered in people’s mind as the “Camera Guy” and that I’m no longer “Josh Owens” -- I’m now a sevice. A function. A role. There’s this tug of war in my head that’s struggling to fully commit to an identity. Josh is a visual artist, but is the visual artist necessarily Josh? Who cares. It’s a fun identity crisis that I thought atleast one of

you might find interesting. I wanted to take this opportunity to fully play the role as an artist (or a camera guy) to give you some insight into what goes on when it comes to taking a picture. Believe it or not, it’s not just taking a picture. It’s translating the idea in your head into the real world. That’s IF you have an idea and IF you want to execute it to your liking. At the end of the day, you can put as little effort into the craft as you want. Again, it’s a hobby for some of you. But I know one of you want’s to make art your life. These next pages are some things that go on before or after I take a picture. Having art within your identity makes you see the world a little differently from the majority of the world. I aim to show you what that’s like for me. Sometimes it can just be doodles and notes. That’s okay. -@ohwinss

Josh Owens Briannon Bunch

Aja Soleil

Sophia Ferraro

Amaris Falcon

Victoria Scriven

Owen Hill

Tori Heatherman

Jeral Chang

DIRECTOR: Daniella Novas ASSISTANT: Zoe Silva PHOTOGRAPHER: Collin Chen BEAUTY: Marisa Vercamen and Sunny Stephen MODELS: Cassidy Tar and Tara King

Director: Sydney Lyell Assistants: Lulu Apmann, Kyra Derato, Janesie Ravelo Photographers: Carlyn Marinaccio, Adrian Valdes

Beauty: Marisa Veraman Styling: Caroline Symons, Allye Hampson Models: Kylie Giasson, Ali Haney, Mazzy Flint, Nina Rayman

director: chloe harbin photographers: mackenzie broome, chloe harbin assistants: lisa henker, julian gomez-thompson, brianna cloutier beauty: sunny stephen styling: allye hampson, chloe harbin, claire walczak model: thomas hill

Found in the noise:

Setting ourselves on fire just to make sure the world remembers our glow. Building monuments out of moments, carving names into history with brilliance and recklessness alike. One headline at a time, one spectacle after another—because to be forgotten is worse than being misunderstood. The world rewards the loud, the chaotic, the ones who refuse to slip quietly into

the background.

Testing limits, throwing version after version of ourselves into the world, waiting to see which one sticks, which one gets noticed, which one gets old, which one feels like you. Saying outrageous things just to hear our own voice. Maybe we wear something that turns heads, not

because we love it, but because we need proof that we exist.

But identity isn’t found in the noise, not really. It lingers in the quiet moments, when no one is watching, when you’re not trying so hard to be seen. Writing by Jade Brant

STUDIO 715 (850) 363-4908

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NOTES

Every detail of this issue has been crafted with love and care by Desa Dragovich and Simone Wanamaker, the creative forces behind Clutch Magazine