An ode to queer longing and unrequited love
First, a disclaimer. This is not a debate about Taylor Swift’s sexuality. The songs I’m sharing here resonate with me because through my personal interpretation, they reflect queer longing, the pain of being closeted, and the joy of fully embracing myself, but I’m not attempting to speculate about or label the artist’s sexual identity.
Music, like poetry, develops deeper meanings as we extract our own experiences from it. When I hear a song about hiding a relationship, I instinctively assume the couple is queer. Even it was originally written about hiding a relationship from the media, it feels much more…
How I manage when the pain mirrors old trauma
After my father died, I grew to understand grief through a series of analogies. First, there was the ball in the box analogy, which suggests grief is a button in a box with a bowling ball. The giant ball presses against it, activating a painful grief response. Over time, the ball shrinks to the size of a marble, still there, but causing pain less frequently and with less intensity. And then I heard the backpack analogy, where you first carry grief like an impossibly heavy backpack that grows lighter and smaller with time. …
And how to stop contributing to biphobia
I didn’t know I was bi until I was 19. Until then, I thought whenever I liked a girl, it was just something called a “girl crush”. In 4th grade, a boy called me a lesbian for holding hands with a girl, and I didn’t know what the label meant, but it sounded like an insult, so I let go. And I tried to fit into a space where I didn’t belong for a while.
These days, I love being bi, but my sexuality is the part of my identity that simultaneously feels most invisible and most criticized. If you’re…
Evidence that we’ve been training for this our whole lives
As a Millennial, I’ve basically been bracing for a world crisis since childhood. Not in a paranoid, build-a-bunker kind of way, but rather, in a when bad things inevitably happen, I know it’s time to pay attention and act collectively toward a responsible solution, kind of way.
I’m generalizing here, but in the midst of this pandemic while Baby Boomers are priding themselves on their independence, and Gen-Xers are following the rules and staying home and flexing their self-sufficiency, Millennials are delivering the most impactful approach. …
Reframing work space, technology, and commuting
Many of us are adjusting to the challenges and comforts of working from home full-time. As someone who has worked remotely for five years, I’ve noticed some counterproductive advice being circulated. If you’re feeling overwhelmed with the new recommendations and guidelines, here are five work-from-home rules I invite you to break:
Re-define Your Work Space
I’ve seen several suggestions for setting up a proper home office. While I’m a big advocate for having a private, dedicated work space available, this is not an option for most people. And having a single designated home office can be complicated when that physical space is needed by…
Nicole Lee
Writing ritual: coffee, yoga, and an indie pop playlist. She/Her.
