SHORT SHORTS is based on my formative teen years growing up in Winter Springs, Florida. Short shorts and bikinis were everywhere. I realized clothes weren’t just a form of self-expression - they were a way to fit in. I set out to create a story about an Arab-American Muslim teen trying to form her own identity outside of her home life and separate from the pressures of her peers. As Fatima attempts to balance two expectations, she settles into a routine that fulfills neither. She doesn’t know what she wants or who she is just yet -and that’s okay.