The Avocado and Me

My dad says my blog posts are morbidly depressing, so let's make this one decidedly... not. This year, I made a solid $4.21 on Redbubble. Someone bought a phone case I designed. T'was a turtle in a puddle, holding an umbrella. It definitely sang of spring-time. I definitely drew that in five minutes before dinner. But hey, someone bought it! By someone, I mean my friend, Austyn. Knee dislocation by sneezing. I did that. Twice. A genuine feat of nature. My school started to incorporate more diverse books into English curriculum - right now, we're reading Between the World and Me  by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Though I'm not impressed by the effort being put into teaching these books (see my rant from early December), I'm happy they're there. It's a start. Abby got into an amazing youth apprenticeship program; she'll probably go in for construction management, and I'm so proud of her.  Outside my window at our new house, I have my very own Snow Queen and a who...

With the exception of Taylor Swift's (second) new album, the world doesn't feel so Christmas-y. It was cold.  I was outside in my polka dot pajama pants and Waffle-House-trucker flannel. It was nine in the morning, a little overcast, and the aspen trees were clapping their skeletal hands. I've been gracing my neighbors with haute couture for all of quarantine - at least the trees appreciate it.  The snow was floating down with all the time in the world; the pine trees, evergreen, were frosted; I was listening to a cheesy Kasie West rom-com. It was all so romantical. On that sweet, sweet note, I pulled up my pajama pants, puffed a breath of icy air, and proceeded to scrape clumps of dog shit from the gravel. Today was the second to last day I'll ever pick up dog shit here; this time next week, the house I'm writing from won't be my home anymore. It'll belong to the daughter of the family from Jordan with a pretty name across the street. I've been saying g...

Hi, everyone. It's been a while.  I am angry. I am angry because my English teacher had us play twenty questions over Zoom. "Twenty questions to guess where I am!" she said. "I may or may not be in the country!" "Belize?" "Nope!" "Nicaragua? Also who's that girl in the background?" "Nope! That's Riley, she's taking pictures." "Is Riley single?" "She's hot, right? Keep guessing!" She's in Costa Rica. She showed us the palm trees, and her friends' vacation home. Her hair is frizzy with humidity. None of the friends she's staying with are wearing masks. In twenty questions, I asked in my most sickly-sweet voice, "Why did you have to travel?" because maybe something happened. Maybe she had to go. Sickly-sweet because the teacher-student power imbalance is very real.  My English teacher is in Costa Rica, not because a loved one is dying, or for a medical procedure, or e...