Have you ever noticed that the more you learn about something, the less sure you feel about it? When I was younger, I thought most things had clear answers. If you studied hard enough or looked closely enough, you could figure them out. But over time, I realized that every answer seems to uncover new questions. Things that once felt simple became more complicated. The deeper I looked, the more I saw how much I still didn’t know. ...
People often confuse understanding with agreement. Someone explains why a harmful ideology appeals to people. They break down the psychology, the grievances, the internal logic. Then someone else responds: “So you’re defending it?” No. Explaining something is not the same as supporting it. This confusion shows up everywhere, not just in politics or controversial topics. A friend explains why someone cheated in a relationship. They’re not saying cheating is okay. They’re trying to understand what led to it. ...
After the worst thing in someone’s life, a person might stop living inside their body. They don’t leave it — they just stop being in it. The body becomes something they carry. A coat that won’t come off. A house that won’t sell. A friend was sexually assaulted on her campus. The institution closed ranks around the person who did it. She was left standing outside alone. I don’t know what happened to her in those minutes. She might have gone somewhere her body wasn’t. Her body went still — that much I know. Couldn’t fight. Couldn’t run. And when it was over, she came back into herself and found that everything was technically where she left it, but none of it felt like hers. ...
There’s a word game on Roblox called Last Letter. The premise is simple: a group of players sits around a table, almost like Russian roulette. The game gives you a starting letter, someone types a word, and the next player has to continue from the ending of that word. In the first round, only the last letter matters: apple → e → eagle In the second round, the overlap gets longer: ...
I never really got nervous around people my age. It just wasn’t my thing. But then there was this one girl in class I had zero clue how to talk to, so naturally, I just… didn’t. Somehow, despite my absolute lack of game, you were the one who actually started things. Which I then immediately managed to fuck up by ghosting you because of my own anxiety. Looking back, that was easily one of the dumbest, most self-sabotaging things I’ve ever done. ...