Category: xoJane
-
I Can’t Stop Thinking About Getting Old
by Janday Wilson By the time you read this, I will be a quarter of a century old. When I told a couple of my older colleagues about my impending birthday, they delivered the usual spiel about taking advantage of one’s youth amid stories about their 25-year-old selves. One asked why so many young people…
-
How Not to Be a Dick to A Woman With PMS
by Janday Wilson Last Tuesday, I got a solid 7 hours of sleep and I woke up excited to get started on a mood-boosting, energy-raising workout. But a few seconds into my dynamic stretching routine, I suddenly thought, FUCK this. My legs started feeling heavy as if some invisible force had dropped a wet blanket…
-
Nothing Inspires Me Like Failure
by Janday Wilson Last week, I felt a brief shiver of glee as I listened to an established standup comic and television host W. Kamau Bell discuss his crippling addiction to pornography. To be clear, I wasn’t relishing in his pain. Really, I was just happy that Bell was willing to lay his vulnerabilities bare…
-
UGH, I SUCK At Handling Racial Microaggressions
by Janday Wilson “My cousin calls me MONKEY!” my student “Isabel” tittered. My heart race quickened. I had been enjoying listening to this adorable six-year-old Hispanic child prattle, as many six-year-olds do, during our reading tutoring session. It was our first time meeting, so I marveled at our easy rapport. Surely she was not going…
-
My Sexist Mailman Made Me Realize I’m Really Not Pulling My Weight in My Relationship
by Janday Wilson “Girls your age? Y’all don’t know how to act!” My favorite office mailman “Ted” and I had stumbled onto the topic of relationships during one of our daily freewheeling conversations that cover everything from how to invest money to race relations in America. My penchant for thoughtful questions and answers has inspired…
-
CHECK IT: My Work Day Playlist That Keeps Me From Bitch-Slapping Colleagues Left and Right
by Janday Wilson I don’t know when I’ll finally accept the fact that the entirety of my post-college life will be all about work. It’s obviously admirable to be a productive member of society, but the constant hustle can get monotonous even if you love your job. That’s where auditory stimulation must come in. Channeling…
-
Making My Natural Hair Look “Acceptable” Takes Up An Obscene Amount of My Time
by Janday Wilson A month ago, I was in a dream world. It was the first morning of an all-expense-paid vacation. I spent it floating in the Hyatt Regency pool, alongside the man I love, under the shade of palm trees and a cloudless California sky. The most pressing matter on my mind was selecting…
-
How To Fangirl All Over Your Boss Without Becoming Unbearable (With Examples From Last Week’s Episode of Mad Men)
by Janday Wilson We’ve all been there: The uncomfortable pauses in conversation, the cagey disposition in the presence of a boss you want to be just like, the desire to do everything perfectly under her gaze. I cringed during last week’s episode of Mad Men, watching eager beaver secretaries Meredith and Dawn fight so hard…
-
I Suffer from “Too Good to Be True” Syndrome
by Janday Wilson A few days ago I found out that I did not get the job that I desperately needed. Fuck. Before the words even left the recruiter’s mouth, I knew. I live my life on the defense, always in anticipation of disappointment and bad news. I am especially distrustful when life is going…
-
“I Heard Haitian Men Are Crazy!” And Other Brilliant Reactions To My Intercultural Relationship
by Janday Wilson “Watch out for them Africans.” How does one say that in Kreyòl? I need to know so that I can ask my boyfriend’s grandmother what she meant when she delivered that warning to her beloved grandson upon learning that I was of Liberian descent. He is a first-generation American of Haitian descent.…
Janday Wilson 