Dear Identity Theory Reader,
Not great times in the world.
Still, we have our stories.
The Lake House Incident
For instance, there was that time at the lake house. Melissa Brooks of Chicago wrote about it in her essay “The Lake House Incident”:
I felt so much shame and self-loathing that I no longer knew how to face myself, let alone my religious parents and the majority of my friends who were still devout and strong in their convictions.
I felt unworthy of God, but I didn’t know who I was or could be without Christianity. I found myself wanting, needing, to push boundaries to learn where my new ones lay. But I was still so scared of being wrong and getting in trouble. I needed someone I trusted to push me to do it, to give me permission to break the rules. And Em, my sole rebellious friend, was eager to take me under her wing.
That’s why I was always at her house…
Read the whole essay.
Lost and Found
We also have stories of ancestry. NYC-based literature professor Nita Noveno contributed this visual CNF piece:
See the rest of “Lost and Found: Tale of a Ship’s Manifest (1928).”
Toy Collector
And we have our toys. This week’s fictional tale, “Toy Collector,” comes from San Francisco’s Rebecca Winterer:
“Strange how predictable what washes up at high tide. Week after week. Plastic bottle caps, broken straws, cigarette butts and filters, and everywhere fragments and slivers of primary-colored plastic. Maybe they’re toy remnants, she thinks as she bends to collect one after another into her latest Ming's Chinese Palace takeout bag. So cheerful these bits from beach buckets and spades, balls and bats, a toy bulldozer shovel just like the one left by her little brother, while knowing it’s adult refuse she’s really collecting: from detergent, juice, and water containers; degraded plastics from fishing boats and tankers; overflow from an aqueous dump out there. She’s always tricking herself that way, looking for cheer in the colors of imaginary toys and in deflated balloons tangled in curling ribbon. Praise in spirited injunctions.”
Read the rest of “Toy Collector.”
Make Up Your Mind, Nature
We’re approaching 100 Ampydoo cartoons.
A Flashy Call for Submissions
We’d like to publish more microfiction. If you have a short-short story (200-500 words), send it to us now. Or soon. Or whenever.
Please Clap
I’ve been creating more Instagram graphics and laying the groundwork for posting regularly scheduled videos. Please clap.
And by clap I mean follow us @identitytheorymag.
Wait, No Anecdotes?
Yeah, not much to say this week. I went to see my cheerful Mormon dentist for a procedure that was painful but doesn’t usually require numbing. After a few jolts of intense pain, I opted for numbing. Then I spent the next 3-4 hours wishing I had endured the sharp pain a few more times so I didn’t have to spend the entire morning with a numb face. That summarizes so many life experiences: choosing between intense pain and numbness, living with regret despite knowing there isn’t always a “best” choice.
You don’t have to win with every decision. Sometimes, you just have to make it through.
Best Wishes,
Matt Borondy
Identity Theory Founder Who Sometimes Gets Lost
Find us on Bluesky: identitytheory.bsky.social