Do you recognize this girl?

We didn't take "selfies".  We had photo booths. You paid two or three dollars and got four chances to get it right. You would then wait a few minutes to see how it turned out. 

There was photo booth in Woodmar Mall that I loved. I took pictures with nearly every person who went there with me. It was located right outside of Carsons. I remember sitting and waiting for the pictures to print out and then waiting for them to cool down. When the machine spat them out, it also ran a fan on them to dry the ink. 

I don't remember why I went into the photo booth alone. This is the only time I've ever done that. Did I need a photo for something? I'm not sure what year this is, but it was definitely after my 15th birthday, because in another shot, I see the ring I got.

Something about this photo strikes me. I don't know exactly what it is. The eyes look sullen. The space between the eyes and cheek look sunk in. The mouth looks big for the face, the teeth look big for the mouth. Not a bad thing. Kind of Julia Roberts style. 

It's hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that this is me. It doesn't look familiar to me at all. It almost looks soulless. Is this what I'm like when I have my "shields up"? 

Funny, there is a ridge between this picture and the next where I folded it. I remember doing it because the last two pictures were "bad". 

This was one of them. Apparently, I had flipped my hair to get a different look and didn't re position in time for the next picture. That's another thing about photobooths, once it started, it just kept going. You didn't press a button or anything, it would just flash.

I like the second picture so much better. I like the way my hair looks better, even though it was just flipped over to the side. I like the natural expression on my face. There are no "shields up" here. This is genuine. This person has a soul. Here is where I can see the ruby ring Mom and Dad got me for my 15th birthday. I see the skinny hands and long fingers and nails that were part of who I was. I don't remember the necklace. But I think the shirt I'm wearing is a black one with a little flower at the top that I got from the $7 store (called One Price Clothing). I remember I had a pink one just like it and Grandmother had bought me one of them when she was up here. 

The top photo I am trying to be seen as pretty/respectable. The bottom photo I am being me and I am so much than that.