The word on Foxon Boulevard Monday was: Love lives on Valentine’s Day.
Iris Barents heads back in to complete her shift Monday before the big night out.
Iris Barents offered that word while on break from her job at Walmart near Exit 8.
Iris Barents and girlfriend Britt.
She was looking forward to finishing her 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. shift, then getting ready for a holiday night out at her favorite West Hartford restaurant.
“I’m going out with my girlfriend, Britt, for drinks and pizza!” Barents said. “Today is also our one-year anniversary.”
Barents, 22, originally met Britt through mutual friends three years ago.
Growing up as “an outcast,” she said, she feels good to have someone by her side who loves her, for her.
“I feel like growing up, we didn’t see as much gay inclusivity. It’s nice to have a partner to share my life with,” Barents said. “As I’m getting older, it feels good to have freedom and express myself. To not be afraid of anybody at all. I don’t care at all now what people think of me.”
Her passions are piercings, tattoos, and arts. Barents takes pride in doing her own piercings and tattoos. She also loves her cats, Taco and Nala.
“I like to experiment,” Barents said. “Life is too short and I want to help people feel better about themselves.”
Her dream: “To go to school eventually, but I haven’t decided what” for.
Barents commutes from New Britain to work in New Haven full-time in DSD (direct store delivery) at Walmart. She said her focus right now is making money and staying away from Covid-19.
“I got cats and a girlfriend to support.”
Click on the video at the top of this story to watch the full segment of “Word on the Street” on WNHH FM’s “LoveBabz LoveTalk” program.
Meet Taco ...
... and Nala!