Citizens 2010

By: bmshep

May 16 2010

Tags: Glass Castles, independent entertainment worker, model, mom, photography, portraits, San Francisco, Southern California, The Mission

Category: Female Citizens

3 Comments

This is Sedra. I met Sedra in San Francisco on Friday. We met up to do some test-shooting in the Mission and she agreed to let me take down, what a friend calls, my ‘nosey notes’. Sedra is an ‘all over’ Southern California native, finally settling down in Marin County with her husband and 13-year-old daughter. Things are great now but it didn’t start out that way. Sedra grew up with a “hippie mom” and a dad that wasn’t able to contribute much financially, though he tried. Sometimes the electricity was on, sometimes it wasn’t. “You know the book Glass Castles?” Sedra asks me, “It was a lot like that. She stole my life. I have my own to write someday.” At age 13, Sedra couldn’t take it anymore and took off with a friend. Through various escapades, the kindness of strangers, and her own strong will she survived on her own until age 18, when she met her future husband while working at Scandia Family Fun Center in L.A. They moved to Canada for a while until finally coming back to California. She’s had various retail and service jobs, most recently managing a Starbucks. But for the last few months, Sedra has gone into modeling full-time. Don’t call her a model though, she prefers Independent Entertainment Worker or just an actress. “I’m acting like a model” she says. She’s getting lots of gigs so she must be doing something right. Sedra likes old zombie movies and “Requiem for a Dream”. She likes indie music like Bright Eyes and Elliot Smith. Her favorite author is Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club). Sedra is 33.

Favorite Accomplishments: Living in another country. Having my daughter. Leaving home when I was young. Surviving.

Regrets: Leaving home when I was young.

You say ‘leaving home when you were young’ as both an accomplishment and a regret? I hated to have to do it, that I felt I had no other choice. I regret that my youth was like that, but I’m proud that I was able to leave and start a new life.

What are your passions and obsessions? Life and love. New experiences. Music and animals. Food (I’m big on Mexican and I could eat spaghetti anytime of the day).

What’s the toughest thing you’ve gone through? Dealing with normalcy. It’s hard to believe that everything is normal , that my life is the way I want it.

What would you do with a million dollars? That’s not really a lot. Could you raise it a few?

What’s something about you that surprises people? That I’ve been married for so long and have a 13-year-old daughter.

Sound Off! Don’t eat anything you have to kill!

Thanks Sedra, looking forward to the book.