It is 97 degrees Fahrenheit outside and dry as the desert we forget this place actually is. I am drinking Pomegranate and Lychee infused Green Tea, slightly frozen so that it is both slush and liquid. It seems that I am finally coming to a place of acceptance of who I am and wanting to embody my actual self, not the self that everyone I love wants me to be. It is easy to deceive oneself and also incredibly unsatisfying. Today, I bought two plants — a bromeliad and a crysanthemum. Bright and alive, I hope that they will reconnect me to the world beyond the paved planes that have blocked me in for the past several years.