Knock, knock! Who’s there? It’s me, Friday, ya silly!

We’ve made it through another week and it’s time to rejoice — especially because, hi! I’m new here! My name is Priya and I’m one of Autostraddle’s newest staff writers! Thanks to the amazing team and community (you guys), I’ve been full of queer-tastic feels all week.

This week was extra special, from my first piece going up on Monday (yay!), to having dinner with a friend, and from dying of laughter while watching India’s first Netflix original to brainstorming new creative projects on the side. To cap it all, I flew from NYC to Carlsbad, California yesterday (and I survived a LOT of turbulence! and Delta gave us a free “meal!” What!) to attend a work thing. And while the prospect of working extra hard into the weekend is daunting, being just south of L.A. means I get to see my parents for a couple of days.

I guess it’s a homecoming of sorts, especially the not-being-stared-at-for-having-a-California-ID thing. Being back in my home state is nicely overdue (sometimes, you really need to get away from New York) — and also, I kind of forgot what sunshine was like. This week I’ve been thinking about chosen and birth families, the burden of representation, the privilege of travel, and how to refocus my energies away from stressful, draining, or stagnant ventures towards things that inspire, sustain, and captivate me. Something about being here, talking to all of you, makes me think I might be onto something.

Between binge watching The Handmaid’s Tale and traveling, it’s been a heavy week, to say the least. I’m looking forward to a little poolside reading (*ahem* napping *ahem) time at this super nice resort a la pseudo-vacay! What have you all been up to this week? Did you snooze that morning alarm a few extra times? How are your pets doing? Do you know what causes turbulence?

Come in, say hello, and share a fun fact about yourself if you feel like (maybe an old AIM screenname)! I want to get to know each and every one of you — cue group hug! :)

How To Post A Photo In The Comments:

Find a photo on the web, right click (on a Mac, control+click), hit “Copy Image URL” and then…
code it in to your comment like so:

If you need to upload the photo you love from your computer, try using imgur. To learn more about posting photos, check out Ali’s step-by-step guide.

How To Post A Video In The Comments, Too:

Find a video on YouTube or Vimeo or WHATEVER and click “embed.” Copy that code, paste it, you’re good to go!