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Keys Like Wolverine Claws, Pepper Spray at the Ready
TW: sexual assault, sexual harassment, rape [I’ve gone through a lot of mental back and forth about this post, but my brain can’t stop thinking about it, so here we are.] Greetings from page 124 of Know My Name by Chanel Miller. I’m 5 chapters into this memoir, and I’m not kidding when I say I’ve cried through most of it. Reading not only through Chanel’s experience with the legalities of the trial and her pain from the assault but her every day experiences she (and every woman I know) has with men randomly catcalling or hitting on her. The way she is over it all, the way she screamed…
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The Evil Jean Shorts
TW: eating disorder She couldn’t see them. She’d buried them at the bottom of her drawer for a reason. At first because winter had fallen, and she no longer needed them. But now, they just laughed at her. They were once her best friend, through and through, these jean shorts. When every other article of clothing snickered behind her back or threatened their seams, they stood by her. Hugged her in the worst of times. But then last summer came, and she found out that they’d turned on her too. It couldn’t have been that bad of a winter, could it? What had she done to make her trusty favorite…
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To Sophomore Slump or To Not Sophomore Slump
Don’t you love when you pick up a book and it’s *chef’s kiss* golden? The characters, the story, the tone. It’s everything. And then you get to the end and you find out…oh my god, there’s a SEQUEL? So you, of course, pick it up immediately, and it’s just…meh. It’s not the same. It’s hardly what you’d hoped for, and it doesn’t bring you the same kind of joy the first one sparked in you. It’s disappointing to say the least. And part of the blame belongs on you. You have your expectations on the moon, and you’re still riding the high the first one gave you. It’s not fully…
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An Over-Analyzer’s Guide to Laptop Stickers
My sister sent me a snapchat the other day: her computer with all her new laptop stickers. From our favorite Spiderman (Tom Holland), to Mike Trout, to the Sandlot, to the overwhelming love that Texas residents have for their state. It made me think of my stickers, and how big of a thing stickers are for our laptops, hydroflasks, etc. I currently have seven stickers on my computer: a vintage-looking NASA logo, a full-body Harry Styles, an 8123 license plate (a nod to one of my fav bands, the Maine), Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy from P&P wearing sunglasses and surrounded by flowers, and three phrases: “C’mon son” (from psych,…
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Every Day is Groundhog Day in the 2020s
Did you hear about the plane parts that fell from the sky in Colorado? Was anyone else’s first thought, “oh, no, this is Chicken Little in real life”? Did you think about Lost? I’ll tell you what, it certainly made me more certain that I’m no fan of flying. It’s cool, sure. I took a planes class in college—taught by the engineer behind the F-22 Raptor. It was a fun class. Planes and space and innovation are cool. The amount of testing those things go through to be prepared for flight is extensive. My professor used to constantly tell us how perfectly safe they are. Made us watch videos of…
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Teach a Boy to Fish & He’ll Call it a Personality Trait
I know you’ve probably read or seen or groaned over every “dating in the 21st century” post, especially ones about online dating, but looky here, another one! I’ve got two cents, so let me lay it down here. It’s a topic that comes up in many a conversation, especially with my grandmother, who just wants more grandkids already. But in this unpr*cedented time of not going out, we’re using dating apps more than ever. Or, if you’re like me, you scroll, you swipe, you observe, but you never actually match with anyone. And on the off chance that I do match with someone, the conversation is dead. Or I get…
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Milestones are for People Who are Good at To Do Lists
If you know about my job, you’d know that I’m pretty good at following up. Are people good at getting back to me? No. But I don’t care if I have to follow up with you six times. I will. I can be annoyingly persistent. ((Side note: dear all boys I’ve ever matched with on Hinge…not for you, sorry.)) But anyway, I’m great at the follow up. Except, I’ve been looking at some of my posts from last year, and I have a few “halfway check in” posts that never saw a part two. Most have stayed in my drafts, but there are a few plain old “recurring” type posts…
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Brb My Brain is in the Shitter
TW: depression, anxiety, eating disorder I’ve been a little bit glossy about this, but I want to be straight up about things: I’ve been battling/struggling/surviving depression for about fifteen years now. Not properly diagnosed or anything, but um, I’m pretty freaking sure. I’m well aware that I’m not alone in this, especially right now. And while I’ve been reasonably creative during the Q, having written at 65K-word novel for NaNoWriMo, read 52 books, baked several new desserts, etc, that’s not to say that I haven’t been wildly and relatably ~not okay~. And it’s even harder during the holidays, when everything is supposed to be cheery and warm and happy. Quite…
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In This House, We Love a Good Trope
Tropes. Tears. Tattlestar Galactica–wait, that’s not right. Look, we as writers all want to be edgy. We don’t want to lay into tropes and archetypes and the same old, same old. Things are tired, and they’re not fun because we just feel like copycats. There are so many books and movies and stories and art out there that all feel the same, but there’s still somehow so much that’s new and fresh. Honestly, how do those creators do it? Of course, there’s the whole “subverting” tropes thing. Stories exist without those kinds of things. I suppose it’s not that hard, but also…it is. That being said, you’re lying if you…
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Halfway Through NaNoWriMo Check In
Well, folks, we’re halfway through National Novel Writing Month, and I must say: what a ride it’s been so far. Not to brag but definitely to toot my own horn, I’ve hit 42,000 words as of today. Do you know how wild that is???? I do. Because let me take you on a journey of how long it’s taken me to write my other novels: 1. A little over 3 years. Started my second year of high school and finished some time in my first year of college. 2. About 2 1/2 years. Started my first year of college and finished toward the end of my third year. 3. 2-ish…