"you're what your mother could have been"
– something i've been told by my family over and over.
my mother isn't dead, she's just not really there. apparently she used to be a lot like me.
right now she lives in a small town in vermont with her boyfriend (finance?). she doesn't get invited to my siblings' birthdays, graduations, or other big events, and it's unclear to me if she'd want to come anyway. but she likes to make it look like she's been there. if i post a photo album with my family online, she'll likely borrow those photos and post them on her own page, implying she was there, too.
in a similar vein, i've gone through her Facebook photo albums and collected her photography. she's been an avid photographer since i was very young, but nothing ever came of it. she'd post them online in scattered albums, only to be seen by a few followers. because of her upbringing and the life she's pursued, she's never really had the opportunity to pursue art.
i collected her photography so that i could curate it for her – beginning to create a more 'professional' online presence for her. my curation so far can be found at amykseavey.tumblr.com.
i don't like to see myself as someone who she could have been – she's still here and she can still grow.
