I just realized recently that as long as I feel like my struggles are the same struggles as everyone else’s, I’m really fine with them. It’s feeling disconnected that gets me down.

I think that’s why I love watching romantic comedies. I don’t necessarily relate to the women in them (rich, white), but I relate to the idea that our emotional lives are at the center of most of our conflicts.

I think most people need that sense of belonging. We don’t want to feel like outsiders. We want to feel like insiders, so let’s be insiders together.

Anyway, I spent most of this week searching for literary journals for a short story that I wrote over the span of the last few months. The weather was gorgeous in the middle of the week, so I took some time away from my computer and hung out with myself in Yoyogi Park.

Photography is really big in Japan (maybe that’s not news?). I love seeing people doing their art in public, and I saw tons of people taking photographs in the park.

Here are some people taking pictures of their dogs in front of some rose bushes. Adorableness is really big in Japan, too (also, probably not news?)

Two sets of little dogs dressed in outfits in front of a bush of blooming pink roses. Their owners prepare to photograph them. — Photo by Me

Besides looking for literary journals, writing this week’s issue of The Intentional Hulk, and going to the park, I also started this newsletter here. Of course, I can’t abide by a web presence that doesn’t have some personalization, so I created the logos and banners, too.

I’m going to end here with what I believe is the best advice out there, and of course, it comes from Elizabeth Gilbert: Who you are/Where you live.

Thanks for reading.

Lovely Little Things

I Just Need to Feel Normal