One of my favorite past times was to dash upstairs to my room after school, fire up whichever Nintendo system called to me that day, and escape into the fantastic worlds. I would help Mario collect stars, or help Link fight off monsters, or go on my own Pokémon adventure. I couldn’t have been more absorbed by these worlds, even if I was physically there. I loved these worlds so much, I still do. I’m learning, as I get older, I cannot handle the hours on end binge as well as

At the start of COVID I was fortunate enough to have a job that could be done from the safety of my own home. I was teaching English as a second language to kids that live in China. They paid my bills for most of the year. Some of these kids could be a real headache, while most of them were an absolute joy. I'll share some of my most exciting stories! Plunger Boy! Now this was one of my favorite students. He spoke English very well, so we were able to "extend" beyond the less

At the beginning of the COVID shelter in place, I had to find a new place to live. Hannah and I both searched trying to find a place within a week. I was completely lost, till one day Hannah said that she's found a place that looks promising. I headed down to Decatur one night and I'm met by Mary. Here I was, broken on her doorstep, and she met me with so much kindness. I told her what I was able to pay and she worked with me. I knew instantly that this was the right choice.

At the beginning of the year, during a period of feeling stagnant, I decide to try my hand at visual art. Now I am a huge nerd when it comes to Nintendo, so I decide to make paintings of what I consider to be the Triforce of Nintendo: Pokémon, Mario, and Zelda. The concept is to create a base coat with an acrylic pour, with each symbol assigned their own primary color to play off. Blue for the Poke ball, red for the Mario mushroom, and yellow for the Triforce. After the pour

This is it, the day of thanks! My cup runneth over! It’s impossible to capture the flood of fortune in so many words. I’ll try my best to list the ones that immediately come to mind, both big and small, in no particular order. The ability to cook and commune with friends and family. An abundance of “found family”. A group of people who hold me up, while keeping me grounded. A community that accepts and loves the person I truly am. An attachment to something greater than mysel

One of the challenges this year threw, was live theatre closing down. Hannah (my best friend) and I were fortunate enough to be in a production of Disaster! The Musical, in Atlanta. This was our first production together since college in 2016. Unfortunately, the run had to close early due to the threat of Covid-19. After Disaster! closed, I felt like my creative outlet had been destroyed. Nothing left but to stagnate and become complacent. A vicious routine ensued. Sitting ar

This was the moment I looked forward to all year. To finally move in with my best friend Hannah, my friend/her girlfriend Nina, and the best roommate of all, Sadie (that's Nina's dog)! When life was unbearable, I told myself: “I just have to make it to October and I’ll be set.” Now I’m settled into a cozy place to call home with people I love. As I look back on the year from my cocoon, I find there were lots of moments where I had the mentality of “just wait, it’ll get better