May All Your Windows Be Open: a Summer Wish from Me to You

This year has been a lot already. So much stuff, so much tragedy, so much content. I keep finding it difficult to emotionally calibrate myself. There is rarely any good news. Everything feels so heavy and dystopian, if not apocalyptic.

Recently, I have found, nothing has made me feel as happy as I am when I open all my apartment windows. Not even an email that says “your package has shipped.” Opening my windows fills me with a sense of newness, freshness, and hope — and I don’t have to leave the comfort of my couch.

I just wish I knew the right song, the right drink, or the right morning routine that would solve all my problems. Why can’t I just eat some sort of puff pastry with a magic potion that will make me the best version of myself?? I would be effortlessly chic, always chill, and constantly telling the perfect jokes. (It seems like I learned nothing from the 2004 film Shrek 2). But I suppose it’s impossible to feel that way all the time (especially in 2024). The closest thing that gets me to feel that way — like all the windows of me are open — is when I’m with my friends. Which makes this the perfect volume to debut <3 GUEST TREASURE CHEST <3 — a perfectly curated collection of goodies by my sister in trash, Julia.

I’ll keep opening my windows and enjoying the cross breeze. Even when it’s difficult to center my thoughts, my plans, and my body, I’m still always going to try. Because the process, I’m learning, can be more beautiful than the dream itself. But… what will I do when the cicadas come???