I resonate with this concept so very much. You get into a flow state of life, then something changes, and you change. I just went through a divorce at 34. I feel my identity evolving again and my writing taking on new form. It is but life. Thank you for your beautiful piece.
Alix, I resonated with this so much! I’ve been living in Spain (Barcelona) for the past 4 years, and while my frontal lobe is now fully formed and I don’t have to navigate the awkwardness of being a tween here as you did, I do understand what you mean when you said you felt out of context here, and out of touch in the US. However, I do appreciate the new perspective I’ve gained from being at a distance from it all — floating between worlds a bit.
The blockbuster poem was so nostalgic for me! Excited to play with these prompts this week ✨ thank you!
Love this, Alix! It was so fun to get a glimpse of your teenage life. Thank you for sharing that with us. I had a similar but different experience when mum dragged me (from Norway) to the UK at age 7. Different because I was younger, it was for longer and I did speak the language fluently, but similar because it was a huge culture shock both times and it changed me in some big ways, both good and bad.
Great article. I love the idea of your past being a foreign country — somewhere you've visited, created memories, and can contrast against your present.
I tried to think of a single pivotal moment in my adolescence, but honestly my life was more of a stream — a cauldron of experiences rather than one turning point. What felt tumultuous at the time has given me a deep well to pull from now.
An analog poem I wrote:
A KODAK CALAMITY
I am your slice of life
Half lit & frozen in time
Another photograph to burn
(many thanks to the late John Ellsberg & BOGG)
Loved your reminiscents!
I resonate with this concept so very much. You get into a flow state of life, then something changes, and you change. I just went through a divorce at 34. I feel my identity evolving again and my writing taking on new form. It is but life. Thank you for your beautiful piece.
Alix, I resonated with this so much! I’ve been living in Spain (Barcelona) for the past 4 years, and while my frontal lobe is now fully formed and I don’t have to navigate the awkwardness of being a tween here as you did, I do understand what you mean when you said you felt out of context here, and out of touch in the US. However, I do appreciate the new perspective I’ve gained from being at a distance from it all — floating between worlds a bit.
The blockbuster poem was so nostalgic for me! Excited to play with these prompts this week ✨ thank you!
Love this, Alix! It was so fun to get a glimpse of your teenage life. Thank you for sharing that with us. I had a similar but different experience when mum dragged me (from Norway) to the UK at age 7. Different because I was younger, it was for longer and I did speak the language fluently, but similar because it was a huge culture shock both times and it changed me in some big ways, both good and bad.
I was beginning the sixth grade
& turning thirteen
with my first pair of glasses.
I adopted a whole new vision
of girls & clarity. Crushes were on overdrive in computer classes.
Great article. I love the idea of your past being a foreign country — somewhere you've visited, created memories, and can contrast against your present.
I tried to think of a single pivotal moment in my adolescence, but honestly my life was more of a stream — a cauldron of experiences rather than one turning point. What felt tumultuous at the time has given me a deep well to pull from now.
Here's a poem from one of those memories:https://flowergirlfables.substack.com/p/hand-stitched.
A cauldron of experiences is so accurate!!