Rocket Science

by Emily Mayer

I fought the urge to point out that there was food in my refrigerator older than their relationship, but you didn’t see me celebrating.

What did it mean that these kids met their great love in high school, and I was twenty-six, living alone and ordering enough Chinese for a family of four?

Sebastian was a professional athlete who probably treated his body like a temple, while I pretty much treated my body like the garbage can Oscar the Grouch lived in.

life could be so disappointing, unfold in ways you didn’t expect, but that it was all still so worth it.

The truth was, I was just Lennon—a little quirky and a lot nerdy. I wanted Sebastian to like me, the me with all her strengths and all her weaknesses, not a glossed-up version. If he couldn’t like me just as I was, it would completely suck and probably break my heart a little, but I would have to find a way to be okay with it. No one was worth being half of yourself.

“I love every single thing about you that makes you different.”