ESSAY: Untethered

Untethered

I am alone. But then again, I always was. I love freedom — the latitude of a body unmoored, moving through the world without the slow drag of someone else’s gravity calling itself devotion.

I’ve let something go, and am happier for it. I’ve become a red balloon rising, escaping — not fleeing, ascending — and I win. I don’t take this sordid prize. I win by being honest and possessing integrity, by moving on with my name still intact.

I realize I love people. It’s their lack of courage that breeds dishonesty — that gutless softening, that slow corrosion — that I can’t stand.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Me 2026