Rules About Love

A journal written at seventeen, on birthdays, heartbreak, and the rules I made to survive longing I did not yet know how to release.

Author’s Note

The following journal entry is reproduced near exactly as it was written on January 5, 2005, with only names and minor clarifying details modified.

This was written at a threshold. A birthday, an age change, and an attempt to impose order on emotional chaos. What reads as resolve is closer to bargaining. This is not closure. It is an effort …