“Oh my God, I can't watch,” says Tim, covering his face with his hands.

“Are you ready?” Derek asks from behind me.

I squeeze my hands into fists, nails digging into my palms. My heart is pounding, but when I speak, my voice is low and controlled. “Do it.”

I am fifteen years old, standing in the hall outside my math classroom, and my hair is straight and soft and — for this last glorious moment — comes down to my hips. Having long hair is central to my identity, the way that a hairstyle can only really be in adolescence. It's the one thing that, despite my [...]

I was trying to move to New York after graduating from college, and I needed a job that would sustain me until freelance illustration work became more regular. I came across a posting on craigslist for a bicoastal company looking for a "nimble designer." I thought, Oh weird, but oh good! I can start here, and then move my way to New York.

I responded to the post and soon had a 7 a.m. phone interview scheduled with one of the partners in New York. I was nervous, but she had this ridiculous fake laugh and I relaxed shortly after hearing it. She told me that there was a [...]