I Now Pronounce You
At every milestone I’ve consciously met in this life, I’ve supposed that I’ll feel somehow different on the other side.
Chrome and Passing
Because when it comes to people I know who are both 1. my age and 2. genuinely proud of our country, the list grows thin.
Dear Lyle Lovett, Please be my Pen Pal
I have no advanced skill in any area of life that lends me to glory or even mild recognition. You would be writing to a very ordinary woman of meager talent.
Family Portraits
In the evening we venture out into the city that she has called “the armpit of California” and find a place to procure some burritos. As we eat, Aunt Ellen tells me about her world travels.
On Wonder
When I tell people that the high schoolers painted a building, cleaned up weeds and replaced broken doors, people ask me what the building is for. “Nothing,” I say.
Ocean Breathes Salty
So on back. Back to the music video. Back to the lyrics that make the video all worthwhile. It’s not that I’m expecting everyone to get this.
Left Behind in Grand Rapids
I forgot that figuring out life does not always mean getting a job or going to grad school.
Dear Lauren, Love Lauren
The following is a completely fictional recorded conversation between my past and present selves. It is transcribed as it was spoken and it is also not real. 18-year-old Lauren: Dear 25-year-old Lauren, I hope you’re no longer miserable. Please tell me that...
Tiny White Moments
Reaching through the grated door, I run a fingertip along the tiny white foreleg of a tiny white lamb curled on the straw inside. He slid into the world less than a week ago beside his glossy black sister.
The Golden Fool
But make no mistake, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ is a flawed statement. It would only work in a dreamlike utopia, where every person exhibits an identical preference and attitude—a scenario I truly believe would bore me to death.
