10AM at ANU

monday the 16^th of october

You either just woke up, or have already finished work. Theres no in between. If you’re working, you post a story with a timestamp. Got to look productive. If you’re slumbering, you ignore the 3 new snapchats. Its too early to call your mam because of the time difference. You have a seminar at 11. You’ve done the creative project but didn’t do the readings. You didn’t come to uni to learn what other people said ages ago. You came to uni to be the person saying something. You wonder if one day years from now a student will neglect to read your writing from the reading list of their boring module.

You wear baggy cargos, because you can take the girl out of Leeds Uni but not the Leeds Uni out of the girl. You use beautiful skincare over skin that you hate. Perhaps showing physical love to your external self will help you to accept love for your internal too. Doubt it.

You’re too late for breakfast but never too late to stop for coffee. You side eye the barista when she doesn’t purge the steam wand. Almond milk because how dare you enjoy anything more indulgent.

You go to class. You don’t talk to anyone and then wonder why no one talks to you. The course convenor talks about the readings and doesn’t ask about your creative work. You feel sick from the empty stomach coffee. You get assigned more reading. You get assigned essays to talk about other readings. You wonder how these readings were ever even written if all the writers ever did was read other readings. You sit in silent chaos. You enjoy the silent chaos. You have never known peace. You know you would feel lonely without the reel of babble in your own mind.