Dear Readers,

The stars spill into the dappled horizon, blending into the sea as the sailors search for their North. If they’re anything like me, they’ll get lost even if maps take them step-by-step from point A to point B. If they’re anything like me, they’ll find wonder and sublimity in forsaking their nautical guides and wandering in time and space. 

Lately, I’ve been grappling with questions of linearity and motion: the inexplicable societal push that urges us onward to goals, consequences, futures. There’s a beauty in the disproportion of a train ride longer than the actual stay; in choosing the convoluted route through Fox Point as you listen to long voice messages from your long-distance friend, disoriented in the dizzying vortex of life and love. Surely, there’s just a little extra joy in tripping in heeled boots you definitely didn’t need to wear, and reminiscing about the past and present, and meandering along “nontraditional” paths towards your hopes and dreams. 

This week’s writers take us through their nonlinear journeys. In Feature, Coco muses on her rock-climbing experiences and the shame of quitting. In Narrative, Christina spins us through a “court”-ly love for tennis, while Krisha reflects on rejection and redirection in conversation with a fortune teller. In A&C, the radio star twinkles through time in Alyssia’s piece, and Ann looks at Roblox journeys as both high-stakes and aimless analogies for healthcare and anthropology. In Lifestyle, twins navigate space, time, and shared identity in Semi’s lovely ponderings. Finally, Alayna’s double feature in post-pourri and Crossword traipses through Sherlock Holmes’ casebook and the twisting corridors and surprises of residential life. 

Come flit through post-’s issue this week and join us in our ambling, rambling, heartfelt introspections. And maybe next time you go explore, you let go of Google Maps and sail, sans North Star, to the distant lands of your daydreams. 

Yours nomadically,
Tarini Malhotra
post-pourri Managing Editor