2023

[I] tried to imagine what [my grandmother] was like as a girl. I had seen only a single photo from before she was married; already by then her eyes were those of a woman, an island in rolling ocean.

Dima Alzayat, from "Daughters of Manāt", Alligator & Other Stories

you pay the finest attention to smallest details when you're touch deprived; someone's shoulder brushing against yours, a soft hand touch, an unexpected hug from someone, warm handshakes where you can feel the other person's entire hand in yours, the texture of their skin. that eye gaze where you feel as though the nerves in your face that go down your spine and chest are attracted towards someone's gaze. when someone's sitting two inches next to you and you know you cannot kiss them but you really wish you could.

If only I could sneak away, your

pocketed love nestled in the

heated skin of my palm that

does not squeeze.

~K.T.

“why is this a disorder this is normal it’s just soci-“ girl what do you think the social part of the biopsychosocial model of psychology means….

if it were a social norm to scream to communicate and someone quietly waved instead they’d be disordered in that society.

“doesn’t that mean that disorders are all socially constructed?” no because autism and adhd (i know y’all are only talking about these when you argue this stuff…) have a biological basis AKA you have structural abnormalities in the brain.

“but maybe those structural changes are just a social-“ uh i mean if you want to call an abnormally small hippocampus that results in memory loss just a social construct you can…i guess

next time you’re thinking “it’s just society that makes me disordered” uh yeah that’s literally part of it. psychology is a social science. but also like don’t forget there’s biology behind it and there’s never one reason why you’re disordered, it’s a mix of genetics, cultural influences, nature v. nuture, etc…

— Devin Kelly, Ordinary Plots substack

coming across a post from a mutual who hasn't opted in yet

lately I’ve been Overcome With Emotion

antigone was right