First Person Archives

first person

I’m Tired of Hearing About Yearning

There is power in yearning, but only as a means to an end, not as an endstate in itself.

5 Hours

A sign reads "Leo's Coney Island: Family Dining" against a blue sky

first person

Wild Cravings: Nothing Tastes The Same

The Leo’s group changes from visit to visit. It all depends who’s up in time, who’s ready to go, who’s the right amount of hungover (hungover enough to crave greasy,…

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya

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Oct 9, 2021

A person wearing a white sweatshirt, a plaid scarf, a denim jacket and tan corduroy pants holds hands with a person wearing a white shirt, a cream-colored jacket and plaid pants.

first person

Coming to Terms With My Asexuality as a Black, Non-Binary Lesbian

Society can make us feel like we’re flawed or like our relationships aren’t as valid because we’re not having as much sex as we’re “supposed to.”

Ashleigh-Rae Thomas

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Oct 4, 2021

Two white coffee cups are on white plates with spoons. Each cup features latte art of a heart.

first person

Well, That’s Mortifying: That Time I Let My Friend’s Mom Crash My Date

We’re making small talk with a random white lady, and it’s all my fault.

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya

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Oct 2, 2021

three stacked journals: the top and bottom journals are black and the middle journal is grey with the words The Grief Journal on the spine

first person

Journaling With My Grief

I have three journals. I no longer have my dad. I’ll write this story for the rest of my life.

Vanessa

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Sep 25, 2021

first person

Wild Cravings: The Mystery Breakfast

If I had a time machine, I’d use it to go back to a breakfast. The problem: I don’t know where or when I was.

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya

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Sep 25, 2021

A white woman lies on the floor on a pink velvet blanket. Her face is not entirely visible, you can only see her mouth and her chin, and four candles are in the foreground

first person

Lying On The Floor With My Grief

I wanted to exist with my grief in my body, not so much in my mind.

Vanessa

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Sep 18, 2021

Willow trees along the coastline of Florida.

first person

Dispatches from a Sweaty Accidental Matriarchy

Sometimes a community is just 87 mentally ill homosexuals and the twenty dollars they pass around on Venmo.

July Thomas

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Sep 16, 2021

first person

Count on Something Sweet

We no longer needed practical. We wanted goodness, even if it was fleeting. We wanted saccharine, even if it left us yearning. We wanted Cosmic Brownies.

Leah Johnson

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Sep 14, 2021

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