Interesting Facts about Space

by Emily R. Austin

She said, “You know, recently I realized that to my parents, I am someone different than to my friends. To my teachers, I am someone different than to my coworkers. Between my friends, ex-boyfriend, and roommates, I am someone totally different. I think if you picked two people from my life and asked them to describe me, they would describe two completely different people.” I thought of the people I went to school with. I thought of my new friends at university, the people I had dated, my mom, and my dad. I said, “I feel that way too.” She said, “To some of them, I’m bad.” I nodded. “Me too.” “Do you know who we really are? Do you know which person is right?” “None of them?” I guessed. “No, they all are,” she said. I ate my pickled turnips and stewed with that thought. “Hey, for me, you will always be a nice person who paid for my food and walked me home.” “Okay, and for me you’ll always be someone nice who listened to me complain.” “Let’s promise to never meet again so we can’t ruin it. Let’s stay nice people to each other to balance out how we’re bad for other people.”