My Disney Princess Era

No offense to the good folks of the Midwest, but I have officially hit the absolute ceiling of this place. I’m currently at the point in my movie where I’m singing my Disney princess “I Want” song. You know the type: the part of the story where the female protagonist skips through her town, sits on a bucket, sings to the ocean, or looks down a well and sings about the life that she wants but doesn’t have yet.

Just picture it: me, skipping down the street off to the lab with On Tyranny in one hand, The Rachel Maddow Show podcast whispering sweetly in my headphones, walking through my low income neighborhood singing:

“There goes the crackhead that I see each morning!”

The activism groups here are ghosting emails, the book clubs are uninspiring, and I’ve been on dates with all of the ten of the single lesbians in this town, the public transit is non-existent, and the local academic institutions are actively downsizing. The plot has officially run out.

I am incredibly grateful for the launchpad and the top-tier opportunities I’ve had here, but I need to be in the room where it happens. Time to find a bigger room.