Jun 4, 2021Pride and Grief CollideIn 2007, when I was 19, my Bisabuela (great-grandmother) passed away. She was a venerable matriarch; relatives from as far away as her native Ecuador flew to southern Ohio to celebrate her life. It was the single largest funeral I have ever attended. As it happened, this was shortly after…LGBTQ6 min readLGBTQ6 min read
May 4, 2020Breakfast of Champions and Cultivation Theory (and Free Will)Content warning: mental illness, fictitious violence, suicide, and a brief discussion of current events I first read Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut when I was in my preteens. I was way, way too young to understand it, but I did recognize that it was probably the best work of…Cultivation Theory17 min readCultivation Theory17 min read
Jan 29, 2020Imagine Ancient AthensAh, 2020. It’s election year! And the presidential campaigns are already well under way. All this democracy sure gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. Or maybe that’s an oncoming fever. Come to think of it, my roommate just visited China… Okay, let’s think about something else. I haven’t thought…Politics3 min readPolitics3 min read
Nov 23, 2019Their Lot Will E’er Be As Prey: a trans boy gamer’s experienceI would like to tell you some things about my new favorite video game, but first I’d like to tell you about my first favorite video game. Diablo II was the game that turned me into a gamer. I’d played computer games before, of course. First it was childen’s educational…Gaming18 min readGaming18 min read
Oct 20, 2019Privacy, Secrecy, and IdentityThis is a story about how I stopped caring if my potential employers see what I post online. There will be some sexual content. I have one major social media account that I use for almost all my social media needs: my personal facebook account. It has my “real” name…Privacy8 min readPrivacy8 min read
Jul 28, 2019the terrifying joy of creation: making things you’re sure nobody wantsLately it’s become more and more clear that one of my favorite kinds of media these days is media criticism and commentary. In fact, I recently came to admit that I enjoy film criticism more than I enjoy movies. I also enjoy video game criticism and commentary more than I…Art6 min readArt6 min read
Jul 27, 2019A Brief History of My Urinary TractContent warning: potty language, toilet talk, and bathroom issues. My cousin once told me that having to go to the bathroom and being unable is one of the worst, most awkward feelings a person could feel. At the time I was a teen and she was a preteen, and I…Transgender8 min readTransgender8 min read
Jul 14, 2019Intolerance in Social Justice Movements is Not HypocriticalSay you love nature and animals, and that has led you to consider yourself a conservationist as well as an animal rights advocate. If you don’t personally hold those values, then try to consider the perspective of someone who does. Now imagine you’re given a choice: whether to kill a…Diversity5 min readDiversity5 min read
Jun 22, 2019Pride Means Playing Every Card You HaveIn this life, we’ve each been dealt a hand of cards, and the only way we can influence the outcome of the game is by when and how we play those cards. Some cards are more powerful than others. The wealth card can be played in more ways and to…Pride4 min readPride4 min read
Apr 19, 2019Freedom of Speech, Violence, and Political Correctness Gone MadI started this journey of essays on Medium with one called “The Last Thing I Will Ever Say About Freedom of Speech.” I admitted that the title was a bit of an exaggeration, but thus far I’ve stayed true to it in the sense that I’ve written about speech and…Free Speech7 min readFree Speech7 min read
