on living

ben romero
Aug 28, 2017 · 2 min read

ON NEW ORLEANS: It’s easy to be poetic about. It’s larger than life. There are a lot of potholes. My Dad said everyone here is “only 70% real.”

ON LOUISIANA: I have yet to see as many alligators and Republicans as I imagined. It’s a common troupe to say, “At least, we’re not Mississippi.”

ON BEING 23: I have spilled red wine on a white rug on three different occasions. This is all you need to know.

ON LIVING WITH FIVE PEOPLE AGAIN: It’s like a spin-off with a new head writer. Whoever wrote the election episode should be fired.

ON MY FIRST JOB: My boss told me to “button-up” on my third day, and my sixth month review involved the phrase “liberal arts transition.” I’m still here.

ON ADULTHOOD: It’s about long-term growth. It doesn’t really exist.

ON JOHN B. MCLEMORE: If ever there was a man of the moment, it would be him.

ON THE TRUMP ERA: I constantly have this horrible feeling we’re cutting off the head of that beast that grows back two more. I swear the windows are sagging.

ON FALLING IN LOVE: Highly recommend. Do it when no one’s looking.

ON THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE REAL WORLD: No one thinks your ‘pretending to be an adult’ jokes are funny, and some people really care about where you place your periods.

ON FALLING IN LOVE, PART II: Many of the red wine stains are his fault.

ON NEW ORLEANS, PART II: It’s a small town and an everything city. It’s a large town and a nothing city. Rebecca Solnit said it’s a place full of contradictions.

ON MARDI GRAS: 90% fun, 10% could die at any moment. All the roads were closed, everyone was drunk, and it was the closest I’ve ever been to the end of the world. I did not see any breasts.

ON NEW ORLEANS, PART III: It tends to occupy more space in your mind than other places. Someone I interviewed called it, “the most self-obsessed town in the world.” Everyone who lives here calls it “unique.” It will be gone one day.

ON BEING GAY IN A NEW TOWN: I ran into three tinder matches the first time I went to a gay bar, and I still don’t have a six pack. The article about gay men and loneliness hit close to home.

ON BEING GAY AT WORK: _________

ON MASCULINITY: It matters more when you’re working than people tell you it does. So do most things.

ON THE NEXT YEAR: Less of this, more of that. None of that, a little bit of this, and let’s just do it live.

ON LIVING: You know that ODESZA song “How did I get here?” It’s stuck in my head everyday.

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ben romero
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