Friday the 13th during prom season is the perfect day to acknowledge the blood-spattered prom queen was plus-sized on the page. — Carrie White was fat. Surprised? I know, right, because a chunky girl is not what springs to mind in conjunction with prom’s most infamous moment: A waifish Carrie stands on stage in a pink slip, glittering tiara atop her long locks as she marvels at being crowned prom queen, only…

Writing About Someone Else is a Common Mistake Students Make Last week’s A Million Little Things finds the characters, for the most part, in a good place as high school senior, Tyrell, narrates that “Relationships of all kinds are gifts and have to be handled with care.” The ending sequence…

Imparting KJ Wisdom One Basic Paragraph at a Time Top Bun (topic sentence): No one knows what you don’t know. Tomato (juicy detail): Whoever is interviewing you is overworked and thinking more about their next meal than plotting to rip you off. Lettuce (juicy detail): Set a rate you can…

October marked the culmination of hundreds of New York City Artist Corps (CAC) events across the city, so let’s take a moment to acknowledge that this relief grant is not “found money.” Dear Fellow CAC Grant Awardees, I am writing to congratulate you on your recent public engagement event but…

How do you color the future when your Crayola box is filled with 64 shades of trauma? I am terrified by the idea of normalcy. My fear is slippery because what is normal anymore? I talked with my father on the phone yesterday about a funny mix-up that resulted in…

The pandemic has taught me to appreciate many things, but my love of being a disembodied head came as a surprise. I miss hugs. I don’t miss the obligatory post-show squeeze from the drunken bar owner who let us use the backroom for free, which included a sloppy whiskey-scented kiss…

The app stopped tracking me on March 10, 2020 — and I’m lost without it — My timeline stops on March 10, 2020. That sounds so futuristic to say. Like I’m some kind of Sarah Connor and that’s the date pinpointed by time travelers to snuff me out before I get pregnant with the leader of the resistance. Or to make sure I get pregnant? I…

The All-American Aversion to Showing Weakness Does More Harm Than Good I didn’t imagine that leaving New York to go take care of my parents for the summer would be easy. It never occurred to me, however, that the hardest part would be making the Floridians around us wear masks. …

The iconic ‘Star Trek’ captain is my hero — in any time period — Halfway through the trailer for the new Star Trek: Picard series, I slapped my laptop shut and dissolved into a puddle of hot, snotty tears. This is my reaction to the gift of joy. My gift, beamed in via YouTube link, was the return of one of the greatest leaders…