By Refresh Editors

Welcome to that odd stretch of the year after the holiday season where either freezing temperatures or the lack of celebratory occasions are liable to make the days feel dull. This particular passage can be hard to navigate, but I’ve often thought of it as a very interior season: a time past the bluster of New Year’s Resolutions and before the year is old enough to reminisce on. It’s a good time to dive into some personal essays, because no matter what place you’re in emotionally, reading what others have been through can be cathartic and restorative.  – Andrea

Like A Diamond: What It’s Like to Live With Autism as a Woman 

Veneranda Aguirre, one of many women who discovered their autism diagnosis in their adult years, opens up about life before and after. Her reflection rings true with anyone who has been both terrified and relieved by a diagnosis that puts life in perspective: ” Autism is a scary word, and I didn’t know if I was strong enough to hold it in my hands. But then I also wanted to cry because I’d been carrying that burden for 31 years, and I could finally put it down.” If you’re interested in self-discovery and the mental health conditions that often go ignored in girls and women, this essay is a must-read.

Interior Designs: How Home Shapes Us

“Physical spaces have a way of reflecting their occupants,” and one’s body memorizes the texture and aura of a home. In this essay, Lauren Jonik traces the formative memories of her grandparents’ home, and the complicated feelings – and surprises – that arose when it was sold and renovated.

New Place, New Name, Same Me

Identity is a complicated thing. Have you ever felt like your name didn’t fit, and you needed to strike a new path with a new moniker to match? Fahrin Kermally went beyond changing an online handle to altering something as basic as her first name. In this essay, find out how the adventure went, and the lessons that were learned.

Woman in the Pit: How I Found Power and Safety at Heavy Metal Concerts 

If you wouldn’t think of a metal show as a place a woman could feel empowered, this essay will challenge and delight you. Genevieve Lowles talks about the genre that snuck up on her and how the “combination of adrenaline-fuelled danger and comradery” helped her express feelings long held inside. It’s an interesting look at the experience of going from wary outsider to fully integrated metalhead.

Good Taste and Bad Food: In Search of Comfort in the 1980s

One of the personal essay’s talents is the power to press the rewind button on time. Leslie Pietrzyk explores the comfort food of her young adulthood and how its taste intertwined with the culture of “such a nervous time, an “intense” time (not unlike now). If you’re baffled by the quick foods of the ’80s, find out where they fit in with this thoughtful look back.