advice for young women

Don’t move to New York. Read more Joan Didion.

If you’ve never considered that you might be very mediocre, that’s probably exactly what you are. If you’re continually plagued by the fear that you and your work are mediocre, you’re probably pretty ok.  Someone could tell you this all day long and you still wouldn’t sleep well every night. Good for you.

Don’t go to grad school unless it’s free. Or unless you’re a person who continually and uncontrollably makes scrunchy/kissy faces in photographs.  If you can’t stop making scrunchy/kissy faces in photographs, you need to go to grad school.  

Forget that you are or were ever 26. Everyone lied when they said any other year was the worst one. It’s 26. It’ll pass.