I remember the summers of early childhood with my mother. The sounds of the Cure and Prince still bring back memories of seeing her get ready for an evening out. I watched her put on makeup, color her hair, and paint her nails with the eyes of a loving and curious daughter who came too soon. As weeks together passed, I feared the season’s end, knowing that once again I’d be left watching from the living room window as she drove back to a life that I was not a part of.

I was raised by my grandparents but born the daughter of a woman only sixteen years older than me. Two years later, she moved to the city to continue her education and enter adulthood while I spent my childhood trying to understand myself in relation to a family that did not look like the ones I saw in books and movies. 

From 2013 to 2015, I sought to learn about families similar to my own and create the representation of young motherhood that I searched for growing up. Through conversation and photography, these mothers gave me a glimpse of their lives, sharing the joys and struggles that followed a decision made early on in their life.