Photography by Alesya Yermakova

I am a 22-year-old writer, born in Atlanta and based in NYC. I’m the associate editor for Perfectly Imperfect Newsletter and the co-founder/co-editor of Charm School (along with my doctor and confidant Bernard Cohen). In my free time I mess around with my Roland MC-505. I have always done lots of things and I have to do everything. In 2007, I walked in on my parents watching the NBC series, “Heroes”. In the scene I saw, Hayden Panettiere’s character cut off her pinky toe with the goal of understanding her superpower (rapid cell regeneration). IDK what happens next– I still have not watched this show. My spirit was so disturbed by this imagery that I had recurring nightmares about the scene for the rest of the year. I also thought she was really neat. Since then, all I have ever wanted to be is disturbing and really neat. My toes are intact.