I do "celebrity" crushes in my own, slightly nerdier way, in which infatuation is based on words and ideas instead of beauty or fame.
melissa harris lacewell
christmas
For me and my mom, the nature of our holiday celebrations was anyone's guess. While vaguely grounded in family and food, little else was consistent.
breakups
My grandmother, who has lost groups of friends each decade, is not afraid of being alone in the frivolous "I don't want to break up with my boyfriend before my birthday" sense that I was. Instead, she faces being mostly by herself and increasingly scared, every day until she dies.
healthy
And so do five of my non-crazy friends
dating
A friend and I once made a conscious effort to stop referring to her flirtatious colleague as White Guy ("God, why do I call him that? You know I'd die if he were referring to me as Black Girl," she kept fretting).
