Emily OttoMar 5, 20233 min readSomething Lighthearted"So I read what you wrote.” I swivel my bar stool away from my date who I’d agreed to meet up with for a second time. I always get a...
Emily OttoMay 2, 20224 min readExpiration Dates“Don’t get me wrong, this is a lot of fun. I just see it having an expiration date.” Anyone who has lived with me knows one of my biggest...
Emily OttoJun 11, 20214 min readBlank InvitationsLast weekend, a close friend and I spent a night in downtown Chicago looking for apartments. The trip was exciting and made real-life...
Emily OttoMay 23, 20214 min readPerfect StainsAnyone in Ann Arbor knows that the search for housing starts at least a year before you move in. So the second my friends and I got back...
Emily OttoFeb 11, 20213 min readSure EnoughTo this day, I have yet to feel as nervous as I did during the tennis tournaments I played as a kid. Weekend after weekend, I’d...
Emily OttoDec 30, 20203 min readSnapshotsOne night before the end of the semester, my housemates and I sat around our dining room table. The porch light shined through blinds...
Emily OttoNov 30, 20204 min readMemoriesBeing home for the holidays makes me especially nostalgic. Between my childhood bedroom furniture and forced time with family, I’m just...
Emily OttoNov 16, 20203 min readHalf EmptyOne night this past January, I paused my episode of Sex and the City to make one of the few foods I know how to make: toast. I waited by...
Emily OttoNov 1, 20203 min readShameWhen you write for an audience of maybe a dozen people, you’re most likely not going to receive any sort of uproar when you haven’t...
Emily OttoApr 26, 20203 min readLost and FoundWhen you are quite literally stuck at home, you do things you normally wouldn’t do. Which is why the other day I did the unthinkable: I...
Emily OttoMar 22, 20203 min readInfinitely FiniteIf it takes 10,000 hours to become truly great at something, my sister and I were American Girl Doll connoisseurs. For years we would...
Emily OttoFeb 24, 20203 min readMuddy PathsLately I’ve been spending a ton of time outside. Some days I walk, others I run, and sometimes I pick a favorite spot and just sit....
Emily OttoFeb 16, 20203 min read"Happy People"“Happiest Person” I gently folded the certificate of my 10th grade superlative and hid it in my locker. I texted my friend yet another...
Emily OttoFeb 9, 20203 min readThe Danger of ComparisonFrom my years as a tennis instructor for little kids, I took away a multitude of valuable lessons. I learned the significance of the...
Emily OttoFeb 2, 20202 min readDay by DayLike many naively optimistic others, I started the new year with a long list of resolutions. Something about 2020 made anything seem...