Rites of Passage: by Paris Mather (Ohio, 21)

Getting mascara on your eyelid.

Smudging your nail polish because it takes too long to dry.

Not knowing how to receive compliments.

Knowing how to give them.

Allowing yourself to be girly in a way that isn’t ironic or making fun.

Allowing yourself to not be girly, not just to be different.

Wondering if everything you do really is for attention or approval.

Knowing it isn’t when you cry about it alone.

Trying not to wake up your parents.

She wakes anyway.

Hearing her voice at your door.

Drinking the water she brings you.

Talking until you’re both tired.

​Realizing she goes through it too.





​Paris Mather is a 21 year old writer from Cleveland, Ohio. For her, writing is a necessity rather than a luxury. As a student at Case Western Reserve University, she spends her time writing, reading, playing piano, cooking, and living through emotions that usually turn into poetry.