No Niche Nelly
I recently found out, at age twenty-five, that I have ADHD. As all my mentally ill and neurodivergent buddies know, a diagnosis can be very validating; it can make you look at your habits and go, Ooooooooh, THAT’S why I do that shit! For me, an example of “that shit” includes my inability to choose […]
I. Anyone can spend a week in Orlando, taking selfies with Micky Mouse and getting soaked on Splash Mountain. Anyone can pose with their pookie in front of the Eiffel Tower or with their Study Abroad Squad beside La Sagrada Familia. But how many people get to explore the fantastic and nightmarish depths of a […]
It’s the first night of December, and I’m in the middle of the street. My street. It’s blocked off on one end, leaving ample space for me to pace around where no car can intrude. This space is the size of the driveway I wish I had in front of my tiny Berkeley apartment. I […]
I am getting my oil changed, because I am an adult. This time I am waiting in the car with my windows down as opposed to waiting inside with the free, shitty coffee and box-shaped TV in the ceiling corner playing the local news. BRB as I light one up at this Jiffy Lube. Kidding. […]
In the wake of the murder of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, two of the more recent names of innocent Black lives lost due to police brutality, countless petitions have been circulating to reach mayors and other state/city-level positions of power to demand justice for these murders and to abolish the police. As a white […]
The following was originally published at dearquarantinediary.com on April 8, 2020. Dear Quarantine Diary, When I was a kid, I went to bed watching Full House reruns on Nick At Night. I remember an episode in which DJ starts junior high and is immediately confronted by cool girls wearing thick eyeliner and red lipstick.
The following was originally published at dearquarantinediary.com on March 27, 2020. dear quarantine diary, Today I woke up with a dull headache. My eyes blinked open to an empty Google Meet room; all I saw was my sleepy face in the corner of the screen. That’s right, I thought. I fell asleep on a video […]
The following was originally published at dearquarantinediary.com on March 19, 2020. Dear Quarantine Diary, I’m finally horizontal — on my bed, but not to sleep. I came in here to smoke and listen to my Spotify playlist I made yesterday called “We’ll Be Alright.” The playlist has ended, and Spotify is suggesting Lorde. “Writer in […]
“I’ve never seen you so happy.” This statement was uttered by my then-boyfriend on a sixty-degree day in February my junior year of college. His sentiment was bold but not hyperbolic. We had gotten together in the fall, so he had yet to see his girlfriend intoxicated with vitamin D.
Some people cherish showers, seeing them as an opportunity to incubate with their thoughts, to escape external stressors, to get clean. I like being clean; I like having showered, but often the process is too tedious to enjoy the isolation and warmth.