Released on April 28, 2025, Sixth Former Aaron Bonaparte’s magazine OBSESSED is a portrait- photography magazine featuring 24 members of the Sixth Form class. One may expect a magazine of such caliber to be made by an experienced author, yet this was Bonaparte’s first.
“I wanted to find every corner of my creative mind and make it real,” Bonaparte said. “This project wasn’t about checking off a box. I just felt a need to make something.”
OBSESSED isn’t any ordinary high school project. It’s a full-blown visual magazine combining fashion, photography, poetry, editing, and creativity. From creating outfits, conducting photo shoots, editing in Photoshop, Lightroom, and more, Bonaparte crafted every single part of the magazine. This process was arduous, taking hundreds of hours between October 2024 and the magazine’s release.
“Every free moment I got, I was working on the OBSESSED,” he said. “Whenever I wasn’t actively doing something else, I was working on the magazine, whether it be sketching ideas or editing photos.”
This process included hundreds of rough drafts and many scrapped completed versions.
“Milan Varma’s shoot alone took over two weeks. I went through three different versions, taking the pictures of every single item myself,” Bonaparte said. “Luke Ganley’s and Cameron Ward’s also went through three finished versions that I scrapped after looking back at them.”
Bonaparte’s journey with OBSESSED began while reflecting on the previous summer’s Morocco photography trip.
“We did tons of landscape pictures and more. One night while messing with my camera, it sort of hit me: I realized that I’ve always been doing photography and I love it,” Bonaparte said. “I decided I wanted to do something fashion/photography related for my senior project. I spoke with Ms. Brown, the visual arts teacher, who helped me organize my thoughts.”
So, he began OBSESSED with no set plan.
“I didn’t really have any idea of what I was looking for with OBSESSED. I just wanted to get things down, then expand from there,” Bonaparte said. “Some of the shoots are more feminine, others are more masculine. Some were taken outside, and others in a studio. I really just explored whatever came to my mind and refined the ideas.”
Bonaparte wanted the magazine to be accessible, unlike mainstream brands that primarily showcase the most trendy and expensive styles.
“I strived for a sense of authenticity. A lot of the clothes used in the photo shoots were actually mine,” Bonaparte said.
However, what sets OBSESSED apart from other popular magazines, such as Vogue and GQ, is its primary focus.
“At first, I wanted to make a fashion magazine, but then I realized I wanted it to be more about the people, not the outfits,” Bonaparte said.
While most would default to photographing their closest friends, Bonaparte decided to expand beyond his friend group.
“I didn’t want it to be a magazine of just my close friends. I wanted it to be diverse. I was sort of looking for one of every type of senior,” he said. “If you told freshman-year me that I’d be working with football and lacrosse guys for a personal project, I would’ve looked at you like you were crazy.”
The magazine allowed for powerful bonding experiences.
“Every single person was exceptionally kind. I was a bit surprised in a way. I had a rough past with some of the people, but now I could consider myself friends with them—or at least a level above acquaintance,” Bonaparte said. “This happened because of the magazine.”
In a way, OBSESSED marks a social and emotional shift, rather than an artistic shift, for Bonaparte.
“In middle school and my freshman year, I would always feel stressed and defensive, dodging people in the hallway,” he said. “I think this project represents how far I’ve come in my time at Haverford, especially since I’ve been here almost all my life, starting in daycare.”
Through the magazine, Bonaparte has found connections with people he would previously avoid.
“I was teased and bullied in middle school. Even by some of the people I actually photographed in the magazine,” Bonaparte said. “Although it may seem a bit silly, I find it to be beautiful.”
OBSESSED’s April edition may be the first of many to come, and something to learn and grow from.
“I have plans for OBSESSED 2 this summer,” Bonaparte said. “It will be called OBSESSED VOLUME TWO: One Week of Summer. It’ll have seven models, with two shoots per model, three-to-four pages per shoot. Each model will represent a day of the week.”
“Committing myself to this project over the course of half a year has, in a way, liberated me.”
Aaron Bonarparte ’25
He’s also planning for a third edition to be released while studying at Howard University, where he plans to attend this fall.
“I want to keep this going, whether I can make this specific magazine into a career or get it picked up by something larger,” said Bonaparte. “However, I will always want a personal project I can dedicate myself to.”
For Bonaparte, this volume of OBSESSED was a “guinea pig.”
“I’m sort of a worst-case scenario thinker,” Bonaparte said. “Committing myself to this project over the course of half a year has, in a way, liberated me. Wrapping up the first volume has felt like reaching the starting line, rather than crossing the finish line.”
As the school year and Bonaparte’s fifteen-year stay at Haverford come to a close, OBSESSED is a fitting farewell.
“I had rather dark times here at Haverford, especially through sixth to ninth grade, but I’m leaving on a bright note. I feel proud of how I’ve grown here—I don’t think I’d be who I am today if I went to a school with a different environment. I feel connected,” Bonaparte said. “I feel like I’ve done something extraordinary.”
