Preface: I started this wanting to write about TV representations of female childhood/coming of age. It then pivoted to a “girlhood” thing. And then became about the development of my sexuality LOL. If I cared enough about producing good stuff, I would split these up and flesh out each idea. I’m not going to do that. But when you feel like you are being jerked around by the narrative before you, at least know I warned you. There is a chasm of reality in our representations of youth in the media. Either we receive euphemistic depictions of teenager-dom, oversaturated in…

If you haven’t already gleaned, I love metaphors (and the word glean). I think primarily in analogy. I get a rush when I come up with a particularly apt comparison. It is through these analogies that I can express concepts I find impossible to articulate in excplicit description alone. Like my emotional dichotomy as an invulnerable over sharer. Many people I meet for the first time are startled by how open I am with personal detail. It takes very little for me to recount erotic rendezvous or the complexities of my family dynamics to a perfect stranger. I’ve also been…

I went to a college that was overwhelmingly corporate. I do not wish to call it by name, so let’s refer to it as Preprofessional University, or PU for short. Prior to PU, I did not know what people meant when they said they wanted to do “IB.” I did not know that you could have a “consulting club” or that people would want to be in a “consulting club.” I had never heard the term “coffee chat.” Honestly, I had little idea of PU’s prestige before applying. My mom and I are just so geographically challenged that we’d figured…

Two things drive me to write, and they are somewhat at odds with one another. One is the desire to entertain and dazzle. For someone to read my work and think “this person is very funny and also I am impressed with her astute observations and wordsmithery.” The other is to be known. For someone to read my work and think “wow, this person has suffered so much and is so complex and self aware!” What prohibits me from committing to the former is the deep desire for the latter. I have fantasies of writing tell-alls or releasing an hour(s)…

Preface: I wrote the majority of this pre barbie-movie-America-Ferrera-monologue. How you felt about that monologue is a fair litmus test for how you’ll enjoy this piece. The prisoner’s dilemma is a game theory thought experiment that most people are introduced to in an Econ or Psych 101 course. It goes as such: two criminals are detained and presented with the option of testifying against their partner in crime. If neither testifies, they both receive 1 year in jail. If only one testifies, the one who does is set free, and the other receives 3 years in jail. If both testify,…

Like many 20 – something women living in New York city, I am fondly compared to Carrie Bradshaw by my mom. Primarily, she finds likeness in how I dress (a huge stretch) and my dating escapades. I honestly cannot confirm or deny how delusional this reference is as I refuse to watch Sex and The City. The pilot made me feel ill. I have an incredible talent of finding ways anything and everything can make me feel bad about myself. Shockingly, these glamorous actresses portraying early 30s gal pals in a TV show lead lives better than mine. And so,…