Less, Please
Poetry is hard work, and mostly I forget it exists.
Christina Ribbens (’19) graduated with a major in history and minors in studio art and data science. After working in campus ministry for a few years, she’s getting her master’s in public humanities at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. She has a benevolent dependency on tea, is always down for a game of pick-up basketball, and would love to have you over for pancakes sometime.
by Christina Ribbens | Sep 2, 2023 | 0 comments
Poetry is hard work, and mostly I forget it exists.
by Christina Ribbens | Aug 2, 2023 | 2 comments
I was especially tickled by that one anecdote about a dog probably.
by Christina Ribbens | Jul 2, 2023 | 2 comments
The making of the thing feels good and the looking at a thing that I think looks nice feels good.
by Christina Ribbens | Jun 2, 2023 | 0 comments
And, no great loss, I didn’t think about The Masked Singer once.
by Christina Ribbens | May 2, 2023 | 0 comments
I think about saying “bedankt” after ordering but chicken out.
by Christina Ribbens | Apr 2, 2023 | 0 comments
If they checked IDs, I’d never get in. But they don’t, and I wrote my paper, feeling like maybe I understood this place better than its students.
by Christina Ribbens | Mar 2, 2023 | 0 comments
There are single family homes and giant, shiny apartment buildings and about six 7-Elevens in my square mile.
by Christina Ribbens | Feb 2, 2023 | 3 comments
And for a moment I thought, “Ah, maybe the car has healed itself,” before remembering that only living things can heal themselves and that my car, although I sometimes talk to it as if it were a person, is not a living thing.
by Christina Ribbens | Jan 2, 2023 | 0 comments
Twin bed with ancient plastic tubs holding who knows what underneath (1)
Ancient plastic tubs holding who knows what (3)
by Christina Ribbens | Dec 2, 2022 | 1 comment
While she wrestled greatly with the tension of simultaneously desiring community and independence, it is clear that she was actually nailing it the entire time and really had nothing to worry about.
by Christina Ribbens | Nov 2, 2022 | 3 comments
Apple Store Man (Alex). Genius Bar appointment at 11:15am, confirmed death of laptop and had very nice eyes.
by Christina Ribbens | Sep 2, 2022 | 2 comments
Okay, maybe it’s best not to dwell on your quirks quite yet—we’re not there and that’s just fine.
by Christina Ribbens | Aug 2, 2022 | 2 comments
If I were to sit down with past Christina I’d want to relieve some of that angst, although I’m not sure if she’d like the answers I’d give.
by Christina Ribbens | Jul 2, 2022 | 3 comments
It’s a pitiful, endearing, and slightly Dickensian image: two pale, scrawny siblings with oversized guitar cases strapped to their backs, walking slowly along a quiet street.
by Christina Ribbens | Jun 2, 2022 | 2 comments
If I’m miserable that means I must be doing something right.
by Christina Ribbens | May 2, 2022 | 3 comments
Maybe she actually loathes the pillow because it has come to symbolize her cold, loveless marriage—what sort of husband gives his wife a neck pillow?
by Christina Ribbens | Apr 2, 2022 | 3 comments
Romans were sacrificing birds to figure that stuff out.
by Christina Ribbens | Mar 2, 2022 | 1 comment
I suppose it’s encouraging to recognize ways that I’ve grown since then, but I’m frustrated by what feels unfinished.
by Christina Ribbens | Feb 2, 2022 | 8 comments
The creators wanted you to fear this plant and they succeeded.
by Christina Ribbens | Jan 2, 2022 | 2 comments
I know that keeping plants alive and being tidy aren’t moral achievements, but sometimes I let myself feel that way.
by Christina Ribbens | Dec 2, 2021 | 4 comments
All I know is that she gardens and gives people Christmas trees and string lights, so according to Hallmark movies she’s probably Santa’s daughter.
by Christina Ribbens | Nov 2, 2021 | 1 comment
I like knowing the sorts of things they write crossword puzzle clues about; it’s one of the ways I feel like I understand the world I live in.
by Christina Ribbens | Oct 2, 2021 | 1 comment
I’ve been less decisive about the shelves, however.
by Christina Ribbens | Sep 2, 2021 | 2 comments
No one should do these things. They are not practical and, in some cases, pretty dangerous.
by Christina Ribbens | Aug 2, 2021 | 10 comments
What were they going to do, take me to urgent care to hear, “Mmm sorry, it’s broken but also…it’s a toe?”