Florida-centric Narrative Nonfiction
I left behind a long list of teachers who despised me during my 12 years in the Florida public school system. Twenty-six kids sit under the fluorescent lights of a classroom, staring down at a sheet of manila paper. The Floridian humidity creeps in through the windows of our portable – a clever euphemism for the mobile homes that served as our cramped classrooms … Read moreThe Problem Child
The metamorphosis begins with a glue stick tube straight to the eyebrows. Then, three shades of foundation are painted over every pore … Read moreIn the spotlight
I rolled down our car’s window and extended my gloved hand. Another gloved hand gave me a high school diploma, and a muffled voice congratulated me. My mom drove out of the bus loop where our graduation ceremony was hosted in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. The brown brick buildings that housed the final years of my adolescence shrunk in the rear view mirror for the last time. Ahead of me: the real world … Read moreA love letter to odd jobs
It’s 6:50 a.m. in a nondescript Dunnellon shopping center. Street lights and neon store signs cast a dim glow over the dark lot and Publix won’t open for another ten minutes.Â
The parking lot is almost empty, except for the scattering of cars belonging to the members of the Workout Anytime gym and those of a group of 14 old men sitting along the benches outside of the Breakfast Station restaurant … Read moreThe ROMEOs
A grizzled man smoking a cigarette in his Confederate flag adorned pickup truck was the first time I saw a Florida stereotype in the flesh … Read moreWarming up