What one? I could talk about when I was six and kissed my best friend under his swingset solely because he was a boy and I already knew that boys and girls Just Couldn’t Be Friends because that’s all the adults would tell me. I could talk about being eighteen and almost blackout drunk in the basement of some house party, nervous because I wasn’t sure what I was doing or how to dance with someone let alone kiss them, wondering if it was weird that I knew he had kissed three of my friends earlier in the year, and feeling disappointment rush through me as I was wondering “is this all?” Or I could talk about the first time I kissed a girl, and it felt right and still not as exciting as everyone made it out to be, still left something to be desired, but she was cute and I was drunk, and it was great until my so-called friends started wolf-whistling as though this kiss by way of party game was for them and about them.
what do you love about yourself?
It’s hard to pick just one thing because, y’know, it’s me. All of it is me, and teasing apart one small bit for pointing out as special seems like trying to untangle a ball of yarn that’s gotten knotted up--sure, you could do it, but is it really worth the effort? And picking one thing that I love seems to imply that there are bits I don’t love--and not that that’s not the case, but for the longest time people have wanted to force me into different shapes because only part of me is okay to them. I am sick of the contortions, and it’s taken time (and will continue to take time, let’s be real) but I love all of me, and that sounds sappy and cliqued but it’s also the truth (yes, even the bits that cause dysphoria, even the bits that cause pain, even when my brain fog more resembles fog than an actual human brain).
when’s the last time you warmed your hands in front of a fire?
would you rather watch a sunrise or sunset? While my favorite thing in the world is watching the sun rise over the mountains, very rarely do I enjoy being up that early. Sunsets are at a much more agreeable hour, though the sunset is something to be afraid of out in the woods, because after dark in the woods or on the river is not a fun place to be, especially when shit hits the fan. Since I’ve never felt afraid that I was going to be spending the night sleeping in the woods without proper gear in February at sunrise, sunrise wins this one.what’s the best thing about summer?The long days that make kayaking after work a possibility. The boating in general. Being around the moose river family and the inevitable shenanigans and night laps that ensue.
