Like many, the response to my tears as a child were: “You’re fine. Stop crying.” This created a well-worn path of emotional suppression for me.

Chock this up to dimwittedness or the elderly’s earned right to give life the birdie every now and then—either way, all three of us nearly died.

No matter how normal they seem, how do you distinguish the old fashioned from the predatory?

I am receiving kernels of lasting guidance from the grandma inside.

I can feel the lips of heaven kissing my forehead when I eye an article of clothing in a store and the last size available is mine.

Trying to exercise-dance in a mirror to Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie” is a prime opportunity to get some humiliation out of the way until the next due time.

It doesn’t take much for me to get on the train of “a ghost had something to do with this.”

What if a sweaty camera crew followed you around for your entire 2021 like you were an Office character in your own silly drama?

The afternoon of the date, I'm already looking forward to it ending. Thirty minutes before, he texts me asking to reschedule because he hasn’t had a chance to shower today. Ummm, first: ew. Second: LOL.

Here are the things my half-asleep logic finds reasonable to do if I’m lying awake.

Will my Forever 21, stretchy jeans endure the testing fire of my blossoming sophistication? Did I want to bring this thrift store, floral spaghetti strap dress that I told myself at one point: "oooh, date dress" into my late 20's? LATE 20's? I just threw up a little.

Seeking professional advice from anyone around me that would listen, here are the possible interpretations…

The steering wheel has gotten a much too close show of a decent handful of my ugliest cries.

Doesn’t the tempo sound like it’s also just trying to get it over with? And why the sudden spike on the third “birthday”? Is that supposed to add spice because it just only gives us opportunity to come off sharp.

Music has acted like a saving grace amidst the stress of this period of history. In the surge of civil unrest, music is a language we all know how to speak.