**Will you take me back to a moment where you felt completely understood by someone else?** My boyfriend threw me a really, really special 29th birthday party this year and took care of a lot of the important details–he surprised me with a beautiful cake, created the invite, made a little guest list, picked a theme and got decorations, surprised partygoers with temporary tattoos of my face on them. It was really wonderful. But the part that made me feel completely understood was that before the party I asked if there was anything I needed to do or errands to run and he told me that he just wanted me to have uninterrupted time to get ready without feeling rushed. I felt really special and relaxed that day. **What do you sacrifice in order to prioritize the things that matter the most to you?** A lot, I think! I sacrifice time spent near family to live in the city of my dreams that makes me feel most like myself. I sacrifice time spent communicating with friends in order to move toward a healthier, more detached relationship with my phone. I sacrifice time spent being creative and spontaneous in order to work a job that helps me afford living in the place that I love living. As a Gemini, I am of two minds about everything and I know there are multiple realities where I pick the flip side of the coin of all of the current choices I'm currently making. I am happy with where I am in my decisions, but that's not to say I'm unaware of the things I'm not actively pursuing. **What does community mean to you?** Buoyancy when I'm expecting to sink. Give and take. Mundanity. Pushback. Celebration and laughs and phone calls. A lighter load. There's a lot of conversation currently around the phrase, "you can't expect a village without being a villager." There are times when I'm a better villager than others, but I think there's always a village out there for those who want to belong. **In a scenario where you have the opportunity to give a very large sum of money to the non-profit/organization/individual/community/etc of your choice, who would you give it to, and why?** I remember in grad school I was very jealous that the Butler Creative Writing MFA program had a dedicated Creative Writing house. I would love to donate a space like that to my undergrad or graduate or any other writing program that inspires me, because I think that writing and creativity and goodness thrives in shared spaces and is nurtured by a constant stream of conversation. I also would love to drop large swaths of money on the various crowd funding & local aid resources in New York City. There's a church near me in Manhattan that is constantly giving clothes, food, and necessities to troves of people who approach the church and it's this feeling of hope that I wish I could contribute to constantly. There's a whole essay about how I feel when the church lives up to its promises but that's for another day. **How do you find the strength to persevere?** The world has brought me too many good things to not believe it's capable of so much more to come. **How does it feel to know you built a perfect man (me)?** The same way Dr. Frankenstein must’ve felt when he built his monster—excited at his own power & terrified his creation will overtake his own perfection. You’re mommy’s little meatball and I love you so <3