The End of the Tens

Well, that was a decade.

On social media, I’m surrounded by people making lists, cheering themselves on, projecting enthusiasm and hope for the future. And I know, of course, all those lists are curated: when someone asks you the good things that happened to you, you give them a list of…good things.

But it’s intimidating, you know? Especially in some cases. A lot of people, at least viewed from the outside, seem to have lives that—modulo a few tiny bobbles—only get better. I hope for their...