The Rom-Commers

by Katherine Center

I had a theory that we gravitate toward the stories we need in life. Whatever we’re longing for—adventure, excitement, emotion, connection—we turn to stories that help us find it. Whatever questions we’re struggling with—sometimes questions so deep, we don’t even really know we’re asking them—we look for answers in stories.

“Of course I believe in love. It’s the best thing humans ever invented.

“Whatever story you tell yourself about your life, that’s the one that’ll be true.”

If you wait for other people to light you up, then I guess you’re at the mercy of darkness.

Tragedy is a given. There is no version of human life that doesn’t involve reams of it.

“There it is. The whole trick to life. Be aggressively, loudly, unapologetically grateful.”

Tragedy really is a given. There are endless human stories, but they all end the same way. So it can’t be where you’re going that matters. It has to be how you get there. That’s what I’ve decided. It’s all about the details you notice. And the joys you savor. And the hope you refuse to give up on. It’s all about writing the very best story of your life. Not just how you live it—but how you choose to tell it.