Home of the Free
The story is all too frequent. Natasha Perez, Irma and their mother Yrma wanted to leave a country filled with political unrest, hoping to find serenity, the proverbial “gold paved streets” and the freedom of living the American Dream.
Like many of these stories, that path to U.S. citizenship has been filled with trials and tribulations.
Yrma is half-Italian and half-Venezuelan,...
Signs of Pride
Imagine yourself at a young age, enjoying life. You hear everyday things, from the Sunday morning cartoons to the melodic tunes coming from the radio during drives with your parents.
Then a strange fever makes you weak and sick. You go to the doctor to get shots, hoping for a cure. It gets even worse. Soon, all you hear is...
Walking a Ruff Road
Daniel Habas poses with his dogs Honey and Molly by his home in Encino, Calif. Photo by: Adam BaronDaniel Habas poses with his dogs Honey and Molly by his home in Encino, Calif. Photo by: Adam BaronDaniel Habas walks his pomeranian-mix dogs Honey and Molly by his home in Encino, Calif., on May 19, 2020. Photo by:...
Ranch Blessing
Natalamb the sheep is one of the animals at the Sheep Unit at the Pierce College Farm in Woodland Hills, Calif. Photo by: Adam BaronJulio Wong smiles as he feeds the goats at the Pierce College Farm in Woodland Hills, Calif., on April 23, 2020. Photo by: Chelsea Westman A baby goat sits in a bucket at...
Sole Searching
Stairs lead up from the garage to the main living area of the split level apartment. The color palette in the room is fairly neutral, from the white walls to the beige couch. However, in one corner near the front entrance, colorful shoes sit on display. Red, purple and green sneakers pop among the grey and white. This is...
Fighting for our furry friends
Saskia Chiesa poses with her four pet guinea pigs at the Los Angeles Guinea Pig Rescue in Chatsworth, Calif. on April 23, 2020. Photo by: Chelsea WestmanInside the Los Angeles Guinea Pig Rescue in Chatsworth, Calif. on April 23, 2020. Photo by: Chelsea WestmanPodrick is a black and white guinea pig that lives with four other males....
Building Better Bodies
The steady hum of treadmills fill the Los Angeles Pierce College weight room, broken up by the sharp metal clang of weights and the occasional grunts of those standing in front of the mirrors running along the walls from floor to ceiling. In the sea of machines and bodies, Sean Oliver is easy to spot. His well-defined physique...
Right to Worship
It takes a moment to adjust to Rita Nisan’s heavy accent and soft spoken voice. As an adjunct professor of photography, students quickly learn to understand her, but they don’t really know her.
That’s because she comes off as being shy and isn’t likely to discuss her personal work and accomplishments.
In 1993, Nisan and her husband Shamuel Italiaie fled Iran,...
My Little Brony
Trinidad Gomez is adorned with a pink and purple wig, lavender wings, horns and low top classic black and white Converse shoes.
Gomez, a 28-year-old Mexican-American transgender who identifies as a female, credits her self-discovery and happiness to the freedom and acceptance she found in the Brony community.
“I recently came out as transgender,” Gomez says. “My friends have been very...
The Sun, the Moon, the Stars and your Dog: Dogstrology
Illustration by: Chelsea WestmanDog astrologer Yesenia Flores smiles with her dog Zeus. Photo by: Hannah Davis
It was another Wednesday afternoon in Los Angeles, and the sun was blazing down as if it was deep in the summer.
But it’s April 29 and in the middle of a pandemic, a dog...