Fourteen First Dates

February 13, 2020

On our first date, late in the night at a cocktail bar in East Village, he kisses me so suddenly after hours of conversation that I can’t breathe.

I write on here wildly sporadically (looking at you, 2019, the year in which not even one single word was published!!!), but here are some pieces I am very proud of and, also, some pieces I am truly mortified I put on the Internet for the world to see (if you dated me in 2016, I am so sorry).

Photograph by Marisa Bazan

The Archives

2024
- Oct 27, 2024 Well, You Know, Gray Is My Favorite Color Oct 27, 2024
- Sep 26, 2024 Who, What, When, Where and Why Sep 26, 2024
- Aug 30, 2024 Alone, Together Aug 30, 2024
- Jul 25, 2024 And, Later— Jul 25, 2024
- Jun 19, 2024 Down Bad (Crying at the Gym) Jun 19, 2024
- May 20, 2024 You, You, You, You, You May 20, 2024
- Apr 19, 2024 A Little More Context Apr 19, 2024
- Mar 17, 2024 Party 4 U Mar 17, 2024
- Feb 13, 2024 The Unbearable Lightness (of Being) Feb 13, 2024
- Jan 20, 2024 Bodies Bodies Bodies Jan 20, 2024
2023
- Dec 20, 2023 A Long December Dec 20, 2023
- Nov 13, 2023 An Artist's Way Nov 13, 2023
- Oct 12, 2023 So, What's Your Deal? Oct 12, 2023
- Sep 11, 2023 All Adventurous Women Do Sep 11, 2023
- Aug 21, 2023 The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week Aug 21, 2023
- Apr 21, 2023 The Great (and the Sick) Mouse Detective Apr 21, 2023
2022
- Nov 22, 2022 Single-use Plastics and the Subway Nov 22, 2022
2021
- May 31, 2021 What Comes After May 31, 2021
- Apr 30, 2021 A Doctor A Day Apr 30, 2021
- Mar 31, 2021 Blood, Sweatpants & Tears Mar 31, 2021
- Feb 28, 2021 February's Good (and Bad) Reads Feb 28, 2021
- Jan 31, 2021 What I've Read, January 2021 Jan 31, 2021
2020
- Feb 13, 2020 Fourteen First Dates Feb 13, 2020
2018
- Sep 11, 2018 Love This Bar, Hate This Home Sep 11, 2018
- Jun 27, 2018 First Cuts and Fist Fights Jun 27, 2018
- Feb 5, 2018 I Was Busy Thinkin' 'Bout Boys (And Bud Light And Barfly) Feb 5, 2018
2017
- Aug 9, 2017 Doctors Say I'm The Illest Aug 9, 2017
2016
- Oct 28, 2016 Why I Really Did The Whole 30 Oct 28, 2016
- Oct 17, 2016 The Day My Ovaries Exploded Oct 17, 2016
- Oct 10, 2016 The First Two Weeks Oct 10, 2016
- Sep 21, 2016 Four Things I'll Miss During My Whole 30 Sep 21, 2016
- Apr 27, 2016 No Boy April: A (Semi) Successful Social Experiment Apr 27, 2016
- Mar 14, 2016 This Is How You Will Lose Me Mar 14, 2016
- Feb 29, 2016 Zach & Jen's Infinite Breakup Playlist Feb 29, 2016
- Feb 26, 2016 When Kanye Needs 'Every Bad Bitch Up In Equinox' and, Miraculously, You Are One Of Them Feb 26, 2016
- Feb 8, 2016 Fancy Like The Things She Likes Feb 8, 2016
- Feb 2, 2016 The Last Time(s) Feb 2, 2016
- Jan 27, 2016 A Field Study in Swiping Jan 27, 2016
- Jan 21, 2016 How To Lose A Guy for 10 Days and Then, Again, in 10 Minutes Jan 21, 2016
2015
- Dec 20, 2015 Here Are The 15 Men I "Dated" in 2015 Dec 20, 2015
- Dec 8, 2015 Fire Escapes, Cigarettes & The Time I Almost Blew Up My Apartment Dec 8, 2015
- Nov 15, 2015 More New York Than New York Nov 15, 2015
- Nov 9, 2015 A Story (Kind Of) About Loneliness, But More About Man-Buns Nov 9, 2015
- Oct 13, 2015 A Typical Weeknd Oct 13, 2015
- Oct 6, 2015 Dating Strangers, Dill Street & the Magical Tea Shop Oct 6, 2015
- Sep 29, 2015 No Means No Means NO Sep 29, 2015
- Sep 22, 2015 How to Date (Everyone) Sep 22, 2015
- Sep 1, 2015 New York City is NOT That BIG Sep 1, 2015
- Jul 22, 2015 Still #Notdating Jul 22, 2015
- Jul 6, 2015 Want To Want Me (In Bushwick, Probably) Jul 6, 2015
- Jun 15, 2015 My Life As A Drug Lord On The Upper East Side Jun 15, 2015
- May 31, 2015 How to Lose 20 Pounds, Fall in Love with Tattooed Men and Break-Up with Doctors May 31, 2015
- Mar 24, 2015 My Neighbor Stole My Internet and Other Things That Made Me Cry Mar 24, 2015
- Jan 19, 2015 What I've Learned in New York City Jan 19, 2015
2014
- Nov 16, 2014 Endlessly Searching For The Basic Witch (And, Also, A Job) Nov 16, 2014
- Nov 8, 2014 Family Perks (But, Mostly, Quirks) Nov 8, 2014
- Nov 2, 2014 The Jamba Juice Incident Nov 2, 2014
- Oct 28, 2014 "I'll Just Take the 'I-Got-A-Lot-Of-Cheese' Award" Oct 28, 2014
- Oct 19, 2014 The Cat Incidents Oct 19, 2014
- Sep 20, 2014 The Things You Say You'll Never Do Sep 20, 2014
- Aug 25, 2014 Falling in Love on Tinder Aug 25, 2014
- Aug 17, 2014 This Is What I Learned In College Aug 17, 2014
- Aug 12, 2014 The Most Embarrassing Thing I'll Ever Write Aug 12, 2014
- Aug 3, 2014 The Bird Funerals Aug 3, 2014
- Jul 28, 2014 The Day We Said Goodbye to Grandma Jul 28, 2014
- Mar 17, 2014 Call Me (Maybe) Mar 17, 2014
- Mar 5, 2014 I Washed My Clothes In Oil Mar 5, 2014
- Jan 27, 2014 Three Things for An Unobvious Life Jan 27, 2014
- Jan 2, 2014 13 Things I Learned in 2013 Jan 2, 2014
2013
- Dec 16, 2013 The Unhealthy Love Dec 16, 2013
- Aug 14, 2013 The 7 Best Summer Moments Aug 14, 2013
- Jul 18, 2013 8 Things I Learned While Visiting NYC for 2 Days Jul 18, 2013
- Jun 27, 2013 Life is Beautiful Jun 27, 2013
- Jun 7, 2013 Five Boys You Will (Almost) Date in College Jun 7, 2013
- May 28, 2013 Sandpoint, Idaho May 28, 2013
- May 17, 2013 The 5 Types of Kisses You Should Experience May 17, 2013
- May 15, 2013 Why Working in Student Media is Fun May 15, 2013
- May 15, 2013 I Couldn't Think of 5 Songs I Liked, So I Did This Instead May 15, 2013
- May 11, 2013 Cannonball May 11, 2013
- Apr 25, 2013 Free Will & Determinism Apr 25, 2013
- Apr 24, 2013 10 Perfect Moments Apr 24, 2013
- Apr 23, 2013 The Strangest Text I've Ever Received Apr 23, 2013
- Apr 21, 2013 My Brother Slept Through the Marathon Apr 21, 2013
- Apr 3, 2013 Chels & Jen Attempt to Video Blog Apr 3, 2013
- Apr 2, 2013 The Backstreet Boys Will Always Be Better Than One Direction Apr 2, 2013
- Mar 27, 2013 These Are 5 Songs I Like Mar 27, 2013
- Mar 26, 2013 A Short Story About Something (Or Nothing) Mar 26, 2013
- Feb 27, 2013 My Mom & the Modern Self Feb 27, 2013
- Feb 22, 2013 A Brief History of Some Boys I've Kissed Feb 22, 2013
- Feb 17, 2013 21 Feb 17, 2013
- Feb 6, 2013 First Kiss Feb 6, 2013
- Feb 6, 2013 Sequins, Cereal Boxes and Journalism Feb 6, 2013
- Feb 2, 2013 Remembering the Olympics Feb 2, 2013
- Feb 2, 2013 Mountain Experience Feb 2, 2013
2012
- Aug 1, 2012 "I love the Olympics!" Aug 1, 2012
- Jul 23, 2012 Cities & Mountains Jul 23, 2012
- Jul 9, 2012 London Jul 9, 2012
- Jul 8, 2012 Back to Birmingham Jul 8, 2012
- Jul 1, 2012 Strawberry Fields Forever Jul 1, 2012
- Jun 27, 2012 Oxford Jun 27, 2012
- Jun 26, 2012 This Is My Home Jun 26, 2012
- Jun 26, 2012 Scotland's Neat Jun 26, 2012
- Jun 18, 2012 Drew Trips A Lot Jun 18, 2012
- Jun 17, 2012 Things Flat 4 Say Jun 17, 2012
- Jun 17, 2012 Weekends In England Jun 17, 2012
- Jun 14, 2012 Welcome to Worcester Jun 14, 2012