docu-mental: mapping the american states of mind

docu-mental: mapping the american states of mind

All This Useless Beauty

Do you see me?

When beauty fades, loneliness seems not far behind

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Whitney McKnight
Nov 27, 2024
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vol. 1 issue 2

‘Am I still beautiful?’

Dear Friends,

Last week, I was asked out on a date by a normal man (a triumph, right?) — also handsome, quite accomplished. He was older than I am, but not by a lot.

The surprise was delightful, and led to a rush of excitement that I struggled to contain, until a growing sense of dread dampened my glee. I realized I have become too scruffy for fancy people since leaving the Big City; I generally look unsophisticated anymore. I imagined myself on a date with someone not scruffy and I couldn’t make it synch up.

My doubts led me to conduct due diligence.

A few quick digs into the man’s social media and a spin through his business’s web page, and soon my heart burned, then sunk like a stone.

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