From the archive

You're finally free. Why does it feel like this?

Having something to escape makes certain decisions very easy. You know what the problem is. You know what you're against. Even a bad day has a coherent explanation: of course you're miserable, look where you are. Then you leave, and the explanation leaves with you. There are still bills, dull afternoons, people who don't understand you, and a sink that needs cleaning. Except now you can't attach every disappointment to the same name. This can feel like evidence that leaving was a mistake. Sometimes it was. More often, the evidence is less dramatic: removing one terrible arrangement did not supply an entire life in its place.