“Self Portrait” by Katie McDowell (18), New Orleans Center for Creative Arts "An Old Man in Military Costume" by Simone Wuttke (18), Dartmouth College (recent Benjamin Franklin High School graduate) "This oil on canvas painting is inspired by Rembrandt's 'An Old...
Pretty face with a small waist
I’m a pretty girl
Pretty stories with ugly truths
I used to be a pretty girl
Pretty girls were quiet, polite and needy
Every boy wants a pretty girl
Girls like me were never pretty
We were too big, too loud, too independent
We are the type of girls who don’t move around for people in the hallway
The type of girls who dress for themselves rather than for society
Most girls aren’t pretty
Most girls are breathtaking
Breathtaking girls are tired of saying thank you to men when their thanks isn’t necessary
Breathtaking girls will scream to people with everything they have
They will say my body is not some accessory to be worn around your neck or on your hands
Pretty girls deserve to be so much more than “pretty”
Pretty girls deserve to be the dragon whose fire can burn out a thousand villages
Pretty girls are knights and rulers in one body
Pretty girls are the candles that melt slowly in the dark
Pretty girls are unexpected love letters
Pretty girls are smart and confident mountains
Being a pretty girl was never the goal because pretty girls truly do deserve to be more than just “pretty”
Kawaynea Washington is an 18-year-old New Orleans-based poet. She recently graduated from Sci High and loves to write, read, and watch movies. She is currently working her way into the publishing industry and her life motto is “It’s a leap of faith but keep moving forward.” Kawaynea aspires to write her own poetry book and graduate from college with a bachelor’s degree in English/communications.