hi, i'm gentleanimal.

36 / nb / wi usa
aries + intj + tism
reading, nature, spicy food, weed, irreverence, dream logic
crossing the mangrove, maryse condé

bear von jena
AKA nugget

a brief bio

my parents met in TX and married outside their respective classes; i was born to them in the northeast US. i grew up in the south, went to college and lived after in the northeast, then moved west, and have lived in both of the largest US cities. now i live in the midwest, a place that actually feels like home.

i am an oldest sibling. i'm the black sheep in a family of black sheep. i have 2 degrees in theatre (BA) and creative writing (MFA). i'm queer, neurodivergent, introverted, and areligious.

i like to run. i have technically been on tour with beyoncé. i prefer being barefoot. the smallest dog i have ever owned is my current one at 70lbs. i can make a weird cricket noise with my mouth. i've been married to my best friend since 2017.

my edc:

  1. nalgene
  2. notebook + pencil
  3. current book
  4. fidget toy
  5. utility pouch
  6. bricked iphone
  7. sunglasses
  8. sony WH-1000XM4 headphones
  9. wallet, keys







sunday
november 18, 2007
emerson college
boston,ma

I think it's interesting to imagine looking back on this notebook in 10 years. Will I have any idea what all of this nonsense means? Will I remember the people I've gushed or ranted or complained or cried about? I think I will, but I cannot say for sure.

Tonight was the first night in college that I've needed my best friend. I needed her in the pit of my stomach. I wanted nothing more than to be in her room, on her bed, laying down on her many sheets and pillows, talking closely and quietly about anything and everything. To be honest, I'm not sure that I've ever felt that kind of genuine need about any person in my life.

Just for the record, I love [REDACTED], born [REDACTED].

I am an incredibly emotionally inconsistent person. I know that most people are inconsistent, but I like to delude myself into thinking I'm unique. My insecurity is a strange one. I am on occasion insecure, but I am insecure in the sense that I will think about things, and not really bother changing any of these things.

Seamus Heaney: "Living displaces false sentiments."

Is happiness a false sentiment? Is it better to be optimistic and get (consistently) let down? Is it better to be pessimistic and run the risk of always keeping yourself down?

to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier.


-walt whitman