Philly.

May 27, 2019

SnapDragon shares her personal journey into the Great Wide Open.

*Memories*, 2017. Philadelphia. Original Photo by SnapDragon X. All rights reserved.

I moved to Philadelphia a decade ago.

A few hours after college graduation, I packed my Chevy Corsica to the brim with clothes, CDs, and handful of novels waiting to be read. Then I hit the road for my new home.

I had decided early on that I wanted my own place. No roommates; that was a college thing. This was my time for solitude, for Official Adulthood, and I was determined to make it work.

And I did.

Nestled near Rittenhouse Square, my place was tiny but clean. As I waited for my furniture to be delivered, I wandered. I strolled. I took in those city streets and felt my heart rejoice.

It was the beginning of something good.

. . .

I firmly believe it is a Rite of Passage for a person to live alone.

When the day is done, and your door to the outside world closes, it’s just you. You and your thoughts. You and your true self. It’s a time to discover who you really are.

It’s quiet. It’s a bit unnerving.

But it’s so worth it.

The five years (and change) I spent in Philly was My Time.

. . .

I achieved my dream of teaching High School in the city; I stayed for six complete school years.

To say it was challenging would be nothing short of an insult to the experience. But that’s a story for another day.

I was a Teacher. I was a Grad Student. I was an Explorer of My Favorite City.

I think back to the fun: The drunken nights; the Phillies Games; Lorenzo’s Pizza; the park; my turtles; frozen yogurt with a ridiculous amount of rainbow jimmies; used book stores; Lush body products; Independence Hall; Indie rock shows; Old-Fashioned cocktails; Ikea; The Italian Market; Dunkin’ runs; getting lost.

And of course, there were down times: Anxiety; work stress; heartbreak.

But that’s all a part of life, Dear Reader.

. . .

My time in Philly will always be a part of me.

I had a dream and I made it happen.

It may sound like I’m bragging. You’re goddamn right I am.

Because the days slip past at a frightening rate, love.

Only we can choose how to spend them.

So I say go for it.

Go for it!

What do you have to lose?

𝙾𝚗𝚎 𝙱𝚒𝚐 𝙱𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚢𝚊𝚛𝚍.

May 23, 2019

𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚒𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎.

𝙸 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚝 𝚊 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍-𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚛𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚌𝚝, 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚖𝚎.

𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚘 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎?

𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚘 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝?

. . .

𝙸 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚘𝚏 𝙻𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙵𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚜. 𝙽𝚘 𝚎𝚡𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚐𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜; 𝚗𝚘 𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚌 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚕𝚘𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗.

𝙹𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚊 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚊 𝚙𝚒𝚎𝚌𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝙿𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚎𝚝 𝙴𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚑.

𝙰 𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚑 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝.

. . .

𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚘 𝚠𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍?

𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚜 𝚊 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚏𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎?

𝙷𝚘𝚠 𝚍𝚘 𝚠𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚎𝚟𝚘𝚕𝚟𝚎?

𝙱𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚆𝙴.

𝚆𝙴, 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝙼𝙴.

. . .

𝚂𝚗𝚊𝚙𝙳𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚘𝚗’𝚜 𝙻𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚁𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚙𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝙷𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚝𝚑𝚢 𝙷𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝙴𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎:

• 𝙿𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚌 𝙴𝚍𝚞𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗

𝙸𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎. 𝙱𝚢 𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚜𝚌𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚏𝚒𝚌 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢, 𝚙𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚘𝚙𝚑𝚢, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚞𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚜, 𝚠𝚎 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚌𝚒𝚎𝚝𝚢. 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚋𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚞𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚗𝚘 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚏𝚒𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚙𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚌 𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚕𝚜. 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚍.

• 𝙿𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚌 𝙷𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚝𝚑𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎

𝙷𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚜𝚒𝚌𝚔. 𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚞𝚜. 𝚆𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚢 𝚝𝚊𝚡𝚎𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚙𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚌 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚌𝚎𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚚𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚝𝚑𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚗𝚘 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝. 𝚆𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚝, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎 𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚘𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚝𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚝.

• 𝙿𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚌 𝚁𝚎𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚌𝚎𝚜

𝙸 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚢 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝙸 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚐𝚗𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚙𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚌 𝚕𝚒𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜. 𝙸𝚝’𝚜 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚌𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛; 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚕𝚘𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝙻𝚒𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜, 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚜, 𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚌𝚎𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚌 𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚗, 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚟𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚞𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚕. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚎 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍/𝚘𝚛 𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚣𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚌𝚎𝚜, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚙𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚢 𝚠𝚎 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚛𝚞𝚍𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚕 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛.

• 𝚂𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝙿𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚎𝚜

𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎’𝚜 𝚗𝚘 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚎 𝚕𝚞𝚗𝚌𝚑, 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜. 𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚌𝚊𝚛 𝚛𝚒𝚍𝚎, 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚜𝚝𝚢𝚛𝚘𝚏𝚘𝚊𝚖 𝚌𝚞𝚙, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚞𝚋 𝚘𝚏 𝚋𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚘 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎. 𝙻𝚎𝚝’𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔 𝚝𝚘𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚊 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚜 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚎𝚗𝚟𝚒𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝. 𝚂𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚢, 𝚠𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚍𝚘 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛.

. . .

𝚂𝚘 𝚒𝚗 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚝, 𝙳𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛?

𝚆𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍.

𝙸𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚢 𝚋𝚎 𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗 𝚊 𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚢𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝚜𝚢𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚌 𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚞𝚎𝚜, 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚖𝚊𝚢 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚊𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚞𝚜.

𝙸 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚜 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚊 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚐𝚎: 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚢, 𝚊 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚘𝚏 𝚐𝚊𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚗 𝚎𝚡𝚌𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚝 𝚜𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚎. 𝙼𝚢 𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚛𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚐𝚘 𝚞𝚗𝚖𝚎𝚝.

𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝’𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚖𝚎.

. . .

𝙾𝚗𝚎 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚎𝚝.

𝙾𝚗𝚎 𝚑𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚎.

𝙾𝚗𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎.

𝙸 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎.

𝙷𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝙲𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚢-𝚃𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚎.

May 22, 2019

𝚃𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚜 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚊 𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚢.

𝚃𝚘 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚑.

𝚃𝚘 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚍.

𝚃𝚘 𝚌𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚖𝚎.

. . .

𝙷𝚊𝚋𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝙸’𝚖 𝙳𝚞𝚖𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐:

• 𝙽𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚂𝚎𝚕𝚏-𝚃𝚊𝚕𝚔

𝙸𝚝 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚋𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚞𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚗𝚘 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚟𝚎-𝚊𝚐𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚓𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚜 𝙸 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚖𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚛. 𝙵𝚘𝚛 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚎, 𝚠𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚣𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚠𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛. 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚔 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚘 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏.

• 𝙵𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙻𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝙱𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝙷𝚘𝚖𝚎𝙱𝚘𝚍𝚢

𝙸 𝚍𝚘 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊𝚝 𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝. 𝙸 𝚏𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚢, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚗 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚎𝚝 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚑 𝚖𝚢 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚊 𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚎𝚝. 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚎. 𝙸 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚘𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚠, 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚔𝚢 𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢.

. . .

𝙷𝚊𝚋𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝙸’𝚖 𝙰𝚍𝚘𝚙𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐:

• 𝚆𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙰𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝙵𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝙷𝚘𝚖𝚎

𝙸𝚝’𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚖𝚢 𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕 𝚒𝚜 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚎. 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚢 (𝚐𝚕𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜) 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎. 𝙸 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚎𝚝; 𝙸 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚞𝚍𝚎. 𝙻𝚎𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚘𝚝𝚢𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝚌𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚎-𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚒𝚗!

• 𝚃𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚒𝚖𝚎

“𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚒𝚝𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚋𝚒𝚐 𝚍𝚊𝚖𝚗 𝚑𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚢.” -𝙱𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚜 𝙷𝚊𝚝𝚕𝚎𝚗, 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚂𝚑𝚊𝚠𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚁𝚎𝚍𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗

𝙸 𝚘𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚗𝚘 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚘𝚗. 𝚆𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎, 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚏𝚕𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚝𝚊𝚜𝚔 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚖𝚜 𝚞𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚢 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜. 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚗𝚘𝚠.

𝙱𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚠𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎, 𝙳𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛.

. . .

𝚆𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚍𝚊𝚢!

Everyday.

May 16, 2019

I will rub the sleep from my eyes and greet the morning sun.

I will listen.

I will ponder the power of my words before they escape.

I will offer an olive branch to those who hurt me.

Each day I aim to fill with quiet moments of companionship.

Read to me.

Play your new favorite tune.

Hold my hand as we walk to the mailbox.

We are here.

We are alive.

And I love you.

Indulge!

May 15, 2019

A Neurotic Face-Washer Rejoices.

Fo Sho, 2019. Original Photo by SnapDragon X.

Dude.

This is a game-changer.

Let me begin by saying that I have a love-hate relationship with makeup. Inevitably, when I take the time to put it on, I feel like I can conquer the world.

But I HATE taking it off.

Hate it!

You may know I’m obsessive about washing my face, and therefore removing makeup is just another step in a process I already dread. In fact, if I could have one wish, I’m pretty sure it would be to have my face washed, dried, and moisturized with a single click of my heels.

I may have found my new best friend, yo.

It’s Immortelle Oil Make-Up Remover by L’Occitane.

(cue applause)

At $34 for a 6.7 ounce bottle, it’s a splurge. (I’m not Oprah.)

But it’s so, so worth it, friend.

And it’s changed my whole nightly ritual.

Old Routine:

1. Remove Foundation & Eyebrow Pencil with Makeup Wipes.

2. Remove Mascara with Cold Cream. (It’s Old-School, but it works.)

3. Wash Face.

4. Dry Face.

5. Moisturize Face.

6. Wink at Myself and Do a Little Dance to Music in My Head. (Okay, not really. But hopefully you’re still here.)

See why I hate it?

As Sarah Lynn would say,

“That’s tooooo much, man!”

With L’Occitane, I simply have to rub the product onto my face and rinse.

Makeup. Is. Gone.

No residue. No irritation. Just my fresh face staring back at me.

(Even stubborn water-proof mascara vanishes in seconds!)

In fact, if I could only keep one facial product in my cabinet (gasp!) this would be it.

This could easily stand in as a face wash, what with its magic erasing powers.

So treat yourself!

And use that extra time to . . . do anything else, love.

You’re beautiful.

Nevertheless, I Liked It.

May 14, 2019

A Short Critique of Alec Baldwin’s memoir, Nevertheless

Review 4. Written by SnapDragon X.

*Little Gems*, 2019. Original Photo by SnapDragon X. All rights reserved.

Alec Baldwin’s Nevertheless (2017)

Here we are again! It’s Book-of-the-Month Day here at Snippets of SnapDragon.

Are you excited? Did you wake up early, frantically checking your feed to see if Snap’s review was up and ready for your viewing pleasure?

No?

Well, nevertheless, here it is.

(Sorry. Couldn’t resist.)

. . .

This is another book that found itself in my hands without pomp and circumstance. In fact, it was in the bargain bin for a meager six dollars and change. (It’s a hard-back!) Anyway, I’ve always had a bit of a crush on Baldwin, what with his whiskey voice and weathered face. Plus, whenever I see him I instantly think of Beetlejuice, which transports me back in time to VHS tapes and the magical time of my childhood.

So I bought it.

In a word, it’s good. Not great, but good. Baldwin begins his memoir by warning the reader of pretty much just that. He wrote the book because he was paid to, and he approaches the task with humility and honesty.

While I grew a bit weary of his frequent name-dropping of film execs I’ve never heard of, he does sprinkle in beautiful moments of his love for acting, particularly in the theatre. He recounts each of his major movie roles, and I appreciated the thoughtfulness behind each one. I never doubted his candor for an instant.

Additionally, he spoke of his family with tremendous love. I enjoyed the description of his youth, and his complicated relationship with his parents.

But I think what struck me most was his more than thirty-year commitment to sobriety.

After a terrifying episode of substance abuse, he called it quits and never looked back. February 23, 1985 was his last bout with drugs and alcohol.

Needless to say, I really respect that.

Favorite passage? Hmm… There truly are many little gems throughout.

(Side note: I enjoyed hearing his voice as I read. It reminded me of The Royal Tenenbaums.)

How about this one:

“Campaign finance reform is the linchpin of nearly every problem we face as a nation, just as our oil-based economy is the linchpin of our issues abroad. If the first issue is not addressed, we will continue to see the US electoral system gamed by insiders who put forth enormous amounts of money on behalf of any candidate who will read from their script in order to get the role of a lifetime. Even if that candidate is a foppish casino operator who had heretofore shown no interest in national politics” (Baldwin).

Well done, Alec.

I like you.

𝙸’𝚖 𝙽𝚘𝚝 𝙱𝚞𝚜𝚢.

May 13, 2019

𝙷𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚘, 𝙳𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛.

𝙸𝚝’𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚢 𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝙿𝚎𝚗𝚗𝚜𝚢𝚕𝚟𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚊. 𝙸’𝚖 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚞𝚜𝚙 𝚘𝚏 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚓𝚘𝚋, 𝚜𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚋𝚒𝚝 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚢 𝚌𝚞𝚛𝚕 𝚞𝚙 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚜𝚞𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚖𝚎 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚎.

𝙸𝚗 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚝, 𝙸’𝚖 𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚢 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚖𝚢 𝚒𝙿𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚁𝚊𝚓𝚊 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙾𝙽 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚞𝚝𝚎𝚛, 𝚜𝚘 𝚜𝚑𝚎’𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚎𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚖𝚎, 𝚙𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏.

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚠𝚎 𝚍𝚘 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚞𝚛 𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚒𝚎𝚜!

😻

𝙰𝚗𝚢𝚠𝚊𝚢, 𝚊𝚜 𝙸 𝚜𝚒𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝙸’𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚊 𝚖𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚎𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝

🄸 🄰🄼 🄽🄾🅃 🄱🅄🅂🅈.

𝙽𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚠𝚊𝚢.

𝚆𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝙻𝙾𝚅𝙴 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚐 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚋𝚞𝚜𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚊𝚛𝚎:

“𝙸’𝚖 𝚛𝚞𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚢 𝚔𝚒𝚍𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚘 𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚜, 𝚜𝚘𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚛 𝚙𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚎, 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝚝𝚞𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐!”

“𝙸’𝚖 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚌𝚕𝚞𝚋!”

“𝙸’𝚖 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎!”

[𝙸𝚗𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚝 𝚎𝚡𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚋𝚞𝚜𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚊 𝚋𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚕 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎.]

𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸’𝚖 𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜:

𝙱𝚞𝚜𝚢𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚊 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎.

𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚢 𝚘𝚠𝚗, 𝙸’𝚕𝚕 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚜𝚒𝚐𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚞𝚙 𝚏𝚘𝚛.

𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝙸 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚌 𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛 𝚘𝚛 𝚑𝚘𝚋𝚋𝚢 𝙸’𝚕𝚕 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚍𝚊𝚢-𝚝𝚘-𝚍𝚊𝚢.

𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝙸 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝 𝚊 𝚓𝚘𝚋 𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛 (𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝙸 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎, 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚜) 𝙸’𝚕𝚕 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝙸’𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚢 𝚠𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎.

. . .

𝚂𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞’𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚞𝚜𝚢?

𝙸 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎.

𝙱𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞’𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚖.

𝙴𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚘𝚏 𝚞𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚎 24 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜.

𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚘𝚏 𝚞𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚞𝚝.

𝙰𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚜 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍,

“𝙷𝚘𝚠 𝚠𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚠𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚜.”

. . .

𝙷𝚘𝚠 𝚍𝚘 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚜, 𝙳𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛?

Snippets of SnapDragon

Welcome to my cauldron of creative musings.

Monthly Archives: May 2019

Philly.

𝙾𝚗𝚎 𝙱𝚒𝚐 𝙱𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚢𝚊𝚛𝚍.

𝙷𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝙲𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚢-𝚃𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚎.

Everyday.

Indulge!

Nevertheless, I Liked It.

𝙸’𝚖 𝙽𝚘𝚝 𝙱𝚞𝚜𝚢.