I was folding towels at the laundromat, badly but with confidence, when a little kid looked over and said, “You fold those like a hotel.”
His mom laughed and apologized, but I’ve been living off that compliment all day. I walked home like I’d just been promoted in the towel department.
I miss when hobbies were allowed to stay pointless. Now everything has to become content, a side hustle, a routine, or some weird form of self-improvement. Sometimes I just want to enjoy something badly, quietly, and for no reason at all.
Today an older lady at the grocery store smiled at me and said, “You look like someone who knows how to pick good bananas.” I have no idea what that means, but I’ve been weirdly happy about it all day. What’s the most random compliment you’ve ever gotten?
Sometimes I don’t miss childhood itself, I miss not knowing how heavy life could get. A random song, a smell, or an old photo can suddenly make me feel homesick for a version of life I didn’t realize I was leaving.
Iran should be proud of its teachers. Instead, the regime arrests union leaders and sentences educators like they are criminals. If a classroom is a threat to your power, maybe your power was never legitimate.