If No One’s Told You Yet:

I want so badly to talk to you, but have no idea what to even say.

LOVE, DEAR ABBY

At least I have my cat.

…

first

second

third — one, two

fourth

sixth — one, two, three

eleventh

twelfth — one, two

fourteenth

fifteenth

twenty-first — one, two

twenty-eighth

twenty-ninth

LOVE, DEAR ABBY

“can we go back to normal?”

considering my normal has been fainting in the shower, not being able to breathe, a heart rate of 190, social avoidance, and feelings of hopelessness,

no. no, we can not go ‘back to normal’.

I will never beg you to stay

When you and I know you’ll just walk away

Let go of what doesn’t bring you happiness: feelings, objects, people…

“A hero is a person or character who is admired for their courage, achievements, noble qualities, who looks fear in the eyes and doesn’t even blink.”

That is the quote I saw on the wall of my sixth grade students classroom today. I strongly disagree.

All humans have hesitated. It’s instinct. It’s vital. It’s as strong as your heart beating. It is the culmination of thousands of years of survival. Hesitation is a universal experience.

Therefore, a hero always “blinks.” That ‘blink’ is the moment that human beings realize what they are doing. That singular defining moment that changes the gravity of the situation. The exact second that the given circumstances could produce a hero if the right choices are made.

Humans program robots. Robots don’t blink. If a robot were to walk through a path of throwing knives without blinking, would it be a hero? No, of course not. But by the first definition, they technically would be. The reasoning as to why they aren’t? Because the robot faces no repercussions. The robot has no risk. The robot has no real understanding of the danger, nor have they been forced to confront the facts of what they are up against.

That's where we come to our hero blinking. In order to be a hero, you must blink. You must have a moment to see the horrors that all logic would tell to run. Because it’s in that blink that the hero confronts the danger they put themselves in, and pushes forth anyways. That is what makes a hero. To have that shackling sensation of hesitation, and where most others would turn back, they trailblaze on. They trailblaze on anyway.

So here I propose a new definition:

“A hero is a person or character who is admired for their courage, achievements, and noble qualities, who looks fear in the eyes, blinks, and despite facing the world’s darkness, chooses to continue being the world’s light.”

“Even in my dreams, I run to you”

LOVE, DEAR ABBY

🌑: “You said we were your sun and moon. Who’s which?”

✨: “Well, she’s my sun. She brings the light to my life.”

🌒: “Oh, so I just revolve around you?”

✨: “No. You’re there for me even when I can’t see you.”

🌓: “…that’s… wow… …but you know what that makes you?”

✨: “Hmm?”

🌔: “The stars.”

✨: “How so?”

🌕: “You fill the void in between.”