Days of Distraction

by Alexandra Chang

Anything is up for curation, if that’s the story you want to tell. People you’ve never met can reach into the snippets of your day-to-day life, add it all up to make meaning.

My dad is talking about the virtues of East Coasters in comparison to West Coasters. The former, according to him, possess all the good qualities as people: hardworking, direct, genuine, honest, trustworthy. New Yorkers, he says, are his favorite people.

Why do I laugh, then? Out of discomfort. Better yet, defense. I add it to my short list of survival skills. If you make people believe you’re strong and comfortable enough to laugh in the face of danger, maybe then they won’t eat you alive.