Relationships

shelves of SPAM on a wall in blue cans

The Mystery Behind the Mystery Meat

When I was a kid, Saturday mornings meant a breakfast of fried rice, a runny egg, and SPAM—a staple in our pantry growing up.

a yellow dining room table surrounded by red

Struggling to Stay Grounded in Fourth Year

I just bought a dining table for my apartment. It is two months into the school year and almost half a year since my lease started. Why the delay?

faces of two people in blue

Nowhere

It takes you three days to fall out of love with her.

five black cats as different backgrounds

A List of Things I Have Mistaken for My Friend's Black Cat

I am not interested in being scared this Halloween. And yet, it appears that I am unable to escape the witching hour. As I turn the corner, I am greeted by a familiar haunting.

 

headstones in a green graveyard

Lost in the Cemetery

I find cemeteries to be awkward places. I feel incredibly self-conscious in grocery stores, but a cemetery that living people are visiting is a thousand times worse, especially when you can’t find the grave you are looking for.

figure walking

To Walk Alone

I am quite fond of living on a stage. Curating my thoughts for consumption, I love seeing myself in the reactions of others.

But now the awkward interaction with a barista, the stress of an upcoming exam, the slow-motion neon lights in a crowded bar are mine alone, no longer processed and packaged stories to liven someone else’s day.

“When You Were Young” streams quietly on the radio as I find a table. No one knows how this song makes me nostalgic for Texas heat.

If you’re gone, who do I tell? How do I live with just myself?

hand extended towards red balloon

July 25th, 2021

July 25th, 2021

I feel like I am floating after this untethering. Like a balloon headed for the clouds, in that dually melancholy and pleasing way. After this life change, I was expecting my reality to crash around me. This not-quite painful floating sensation has taken me off guard. Losing love is a funny thing.

 

Losing love is a funny thing.

 

a collection of shortbread cookies with heart shapes in the middle

The Effect of Valentine’s Day on Shortbread Cookies

As the Pinterest app opens on my phone, I appreciate the ease with which I can search and browse a seemingly infinite supply of thumbprint cookie recipes.