JENNA, age: 27
WHAT ARE YOU DREAMING?
“I’m dreaming about connecting with people again. In vulnerable ways, present ways…After a year of not, I just feel like I don’t want the half or weird, not present moments or friendships. So like, I just want to connect and see people again — that’s what I’m dreaming.”
WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?
“Cancer. Just kidding…disease?…death? No, but like in that same vein, time. I don’t know, I’m gonna be 30 soon…it feels like I grew so much in my twenties and I just wanna like…in some ways I just want to live there forever, and in some ways not. So, yeah, I guess I’m scared of time…and cancer.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BODY?
“Umm…it’s a love / hate thing right now. I mean, I love my body. I just…I need to get over the, you know, the pandemic weight gain. Like, I wanna feel better overall. And I know I have in the past so I just want to get back to that. But like stress and anxiety has been real, but I still love my body — like, I just bought a bunch of new clothes because I’m not fittin’ in my old clothes and that’s fine!”
WHAT DO YOU REGRET?
“ That’s a hard one for me. I don’t live with a lot of regrets…I don’t. I feel like I learn so much from every situation. Yeah, I don’t really regret anything — is that bad?”
WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT YOU?
“I love…I love how well I am able to focus in on specific things and compartmentalize. That’s helped me a ton with working from home this past year. It’s been really hard for a lot of people — to separate work from home and the stress of the pandemic. And then understanding that, like, can be put aside for a minute and you can have a moment of joy. I think I’m really good at that, and I love that about myself. I can without that looming anxiety or whatever it is — work or pandemic or stress — I can set it aside for a minute and go on a nice walk and be 100% present and then go back to whatever I need to get done. So like, that’s something…it’s a skill that you build, and I love that I intentionally worked on that skill.”
WHAT COLOR ARE YOU LOVING? WHY?
“GREEN. Because its nature. Because green is my favorite color — it’s just energizing to me. And it reminds me of the outdoors, and of new life, and of new growth.”
WHAT IS LOVE?
“….baby don’t hurt me.”
“What is love? Love is finding your best friend and making the choice to be with them and be in love every second of every day. It’s not something that just happens. It’s a continual choice and it’s fun, and it can be horrible, and it can be exciting.”
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
“I want to be a nice Meryl Streep from Devil Wears Prada. Like a good lady, not an evil lady. Like a boss — a boss lady. In publishing. Cause that would be awesome.”
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WERE HELD?
“I gotta think…I don’t know? I guess…like hugs are great. Cuddles with my fiancé — so great. I felt like…this is going to be such a hooey answer…on the 4th of July we were floating on the floaties and I just felt so comforted by the floaty…like, as adult we don’t get to be held like a baby unless we are suspended in a pool of water or someone literally picks you up. Well, I guess held could mean a lot of different things…but, the floaty gave me comfort that day .”
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WERE WRONG?
“Wrong?…I’m sure I’m wrong a lot but I get over it and I move on. I’m…I don’t know…I guess, I’m sure it was five minutes ago but I don’t even remember.”
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU FELT HAPPY?
“Oh…here! Just over breakfast.”
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU FELT SAD?
“Just…feeling sad and empathy for a friend who has lost someone. And it…it just reminds of the time you have left. And in a way, that can be sad.”
WHERE IS HOME?
“My cozy apartment, and my fiancé, and the plants, and the comfort of the cozy living room that I’ve spent endless hours in, so. That’s home.”
WHO ARE YOUR PEOPLE?
“My people are…I guess, my close friends and family. Ryan, especially, is my person…for now life — which is crazy! And beyond that, the last year my people have been (were almost forced to be) a pod of people. Like, “who are your people?” — that was a normal question for a lot of people — “who are you seeing?”, “who are you exposing yourself to?” For me, that was a blessing in a way? Like, I was sad to be cut off from friends, but I got so much time with Ryan’s family. I got so much more in depth…his family was our pod and I connected so much more with his siblings, his parents in a way that was a gift in the last year. They are more my people now than they’ve ever been.”
HOW DO YOU TAKE CARE OF YOU?
“Continually trying to give myself grace in whatever situation that is — my weight, or my late day at work, or an angry moment. Just knowing that it has been a hard year, and people can make mistakes…to not have those regrets you, like, kind of have to move forward and just understand it’s all part of the process. So, I guess…yeah — giving myself grace is how I approach each moment and each day. Like a new sense of energy.”
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE 27 YEARS OLD?
“I feel more like an adult, but I still don’t feel like an adult. But I feel more like an adult? I’m out of school, out of the ‘institutions’…I’ve been out for as long as I was in now, at least with college. So, it’s kind of freeing — in a way it’s like, what’s my next project? But also knowing that life isn’t just a series of projects. Again, individual moments and individual days. It feels good to be 27, that’s the short answer.”