If We’re Not Getting Taco Bell and Going to Target, Then I Don’t Want It
Plus: Would you wear Bermuda shorts? 👀
Welcome to Late Bloomer, a newsletter and community for teen girls.
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Bloomer in the Spotlight 🌼
Meet Riley Luna Ford, an actress, musician, and political activist.
Riley is a high school junior from Montana, who is equally passionate about performing on the stage as she is advocating for the causes she cares about. We chat about her love of music (especially Billie Eilish), hanging out with friends in parking lots while eating Taco Bell, and how the pandemic has helped her grow as a person, below.
Late Bloomer: What’s it like where you live?
Riley: It’s scenic here. We have pretty nature and forestry––it’s really the only thing I like about living here. There’s really nothing to do and I’ve had the same friends for most of my life because no one new ever moves here, which isn’t really a bad thing.
LB: Do you go to a small or bigger school?
Riley: There’s two public high schools here and they’re both big. But I actually go to an agile learning center, which is a school where people from kindergarten through 12th grade can go. You can choose what you want to learn and what you want to do. I do a homeschooling program where I can get my degree and go to college but you don’t have to do that––you can do whatever you want. There’s only 20 kids that I go to school with.
LB: Do you like being in a smaller setting?
Riley: I definitely do. I like getting to create my own schedule. It works a lot better for me and I’m doing a lot more now than I’ve ever done in my whole life.
LB: Do you have any plans for post-high school?
Riley: I’ve been looking at a lot of colleges. I don’t know what I want to study but I think I want to be a film major, study creative writing, or women and gender studies. But my dream would be to go to Berklee College of Music and study to become a music manager.
LB: Is music a big part of your life?
Riley: Yeah, it is. My taste is all over the place but I’ve been writing music since I was young. I’ve been taking piano and voice lessons since I was really young. They have a local theater here, which is a pretty popular theater––it was one of the highest-ranked theaters in America this past year––and I’ve been doing that since I was five.
LB: Have you still been able to do performances with the pandemic going on?
Riley: Just like with all performances, the pandemic hit them hard. I’ve been able to do a couple of shows; they’ve just been with small casts and we’ve had to wear masks. So we’ve gotten started again, which is good.
LB: Pandemic aside, what kind of stuff do you like to do with your friends?
Riley: One of the things we do the most is go to Taco Bell and get food and then we go to Target. Target is the best store we have here so everyone just hangs out at Target. Or we go to one of the public high school’s parking lots and hang out there because a lot of people do it, too.
We’re surrounded by mountains so we go on a lot of hikes and do a lot of picnics.
LB: Do you find that the people where you live take COVID seriously?
Riley: No. I’d say that three-fourths of the population don’t take the virus seriously, at least in my town. The state I live in is very much a red state so I think that contributes to that. We’ve had protests here to lift the masks mandate at schools.
It’s really rough. My mom is a surgeon at our hospital and there are just so many people who come in and refuse to wear masks even though they have to.
LB: Other than school, in what other ways has the pandemic impacted your life?
Riley: It’s helped me focus more on what I want to do. Before the pandemic, I didn’t have my priorities straight, and doing whatever I felt like in the moment wasn’t benefiting me or my future. Now I feel like I’m at a place where I’m constantly doing things that benefit me. I know what I want to do and have everything planned out.
It’s tested my relationships with people because I don’t love texting people all the time or FaceTiming. I like seeing them in-person but obviously, especially in the beginning of the pandemic, you couldn’t do that. It made me see who were my good, close friends, and who reached out to me versus who didn’t. It made me grow a lot, personally.
I’ve picked up on a lot of things that I used to do when I was younger. I used to read all the time and then I just stopped because I was so busy with school. Once we went into quarantine, I just started reading a bunch again. I also got really into fashion, too. I got into thrifting and putting together outfits to fit one specific type of aesthetic but also changing my aesthetic all the time.
LB: Who do you like to follow on social media?
Riley: My favorite celebrity to follow is Billie Eilish. She doesn’t post that much but when she does, a lot of the stuff is funny. I like her style. I think one of the reasons why I connect with her so much is that I have a younger brother and our relationship is a lot like her and her brother’s relationship.
LB: You’re part of Montana Youth Action. Can you tell me about that?
Riley: It’s an activist group in Montana that’s all youth. There’s no adults involved in it. It was actually created by one of my good friends. We’re non-partisan so we have to be very careful with what we help with and participate in because we have a license to be non-partisan and if we do certain things we can lose that license. But we’ve helped with protests and we did phone banking for our election. We’re participating in the legislative session here.
The goal is to get youth politically involved. Specifically in Montana, there’s not a lot of people our age who know what’s going on.
LB: What’s something that’s bringing you joy right now?
Riley: I just discovered––or I didn’t just discover them because I always knew they existed––but I started listening to this band called The Smiths. And I really like their music.
A few of Riley’s favorite things:
Life Is Beautiful Festival: I got tickets for the Life Is Beautiful Festival in September in Las Vegas so I get to see Meghan Thee Stallion, Billie Eilish, and ASAP Rocky.
Noodles with butter and cheese: It’s super simple to cook and I can’t really cook. It’s also definitely my comfort meal.
My brother is another thing I love because he’s not only my brother but also my best friend. He helps me with anything and everything.
Garnier Olia Oil Powered Permanent Hair Color, 6.0 Light Brown: I love dyed hair because I always think it looks super cool. I feel like everyone would look good with unnatural hair colors.
tysm, Riley! 🌼
Beyond the Algorithm 🔮
In what might be the most polarizing trend since low-rise jeans, it appears the Bermuda shorts are making a comeback––or at least, they’re trying to. So we asked: What’s your hot take on Bermuda shorts? Should we embrace this look or ban it forever? We conducted a Very Official Poll to find out.
Team Pro Bermuda Shorts:
“Personally, I wouldn’t wear Bermuda shorts. I’m short––5’1” to be exact. I feel like the whole long-short trend doesn’t suit me. But so many people pull off the trend like Emma Chamberlain. Overall, I say yes bring back the Bermuda shorts!” ––Michelle Crespo-Gonzalez, 18
“I'd totally wear these. I would wear the lighter colors for summer and darker for fall. What I'm not for is the below-the-knee look. It’s a cute basic, but not revealing.” —Dezaray Reid, 15
“Let me be the first to say that the days of the teeny-tiny shorts are over! They’ve had their moment and Bermuda shorts are IN. They’re more comfortable, more flattering (in my opinion), and just better because there is no fear of accidentally flashing anyone!” —Maggie Shuffler, 17
“I think they are very cute. They are good transitional shorts for late summer weather! Also, they look nicer than super short-shorts.” ––Caroline Skrebutenas, 17
“I change up my style a lot and I feel like they work well in a variety of different aesthetics! I’m glad they’re getting popular; they’re an option to still be on trend if I don’t feel like wearing the short shorts that have been the norm for a while.” ––Anjali Bakhru, 17
Team Staunchly Against Bermuda Shorts:
“The silhouette makes me sick; I reject this trend so hard. I can’t imagine a piece of clothing that is more unflattering. We are teenagers, not moms on vacation.” ––Leigh, 17
“Not to yuck anyone’s yum because I see why Bermuda shorts are practical, but this just gives me war flashbacks of old Brandy Melville models wearing jean shorts. I feel like this is just another trend that people will praise on skinny people then actively shame everyone else for.” ––Margot, 17
Will Bermuda shorts be The Shorts of the Summer? Only time will tell.
ICYMI 🗞
Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made history last night as the first time two women sat behind the President during a joint address to Congress. 💥
The new Gossip Girl cast is on the cover of Cosmopolitan. (Will you be watching?) xoxo 💋
If you’re 16 or older, you might be eligible to receive the COVID vaccine in your state! Check your state’s rules here. 💉
In the meantime… ✨
We made these delicious strawberry cupcakes over the weekend. Would 10/10 recommend.
And here’s a song to get ya through the week:
P.S. We wanna hear from you! 🐌
Want to nominate a friend (or yourself!) for “Bloomer in the Spotlight”? Got a burning question for “Plz Advise”? A brilliant recommendation for “Beyond the Algorithm” or an idea for something else?
Get in touch at latebloomernewsletter@gmail.com 💘