Dear Wigleaf,

I recently bought a sequined romper. It's not very practical or comfortable, which was sort of the point, because after months of existing primarily in sweatpants, I crave the voluntary discomfort of glamour from time to time, as a kind of reminder that I still have a body.

I think one of the reasons metallics and sequins are marketed to be worn around the holidays is because of the importance of light during this season, the brief respite from cold and dark that candles, string lights, fireworks, and champagne bubbles can provide. Someone told me once that the reason we are drawn to shiny things is because the play of light on reflective surfaces reminds our eyes of water. And that magpies, contrary to popular wisdom, are not drawn to flashy objects, but are generally frightened by them. Most animals are, I guess, when faced with information they don't understand.

The last year has been full of so many cruelties I don't know how to process. I've learned to find solace in small things, like long walks in the cold; listening to songs obsessively on repeat, the way I used to as a teenager; and shine, wherever I can find it, even if it's just in the way the sunlight hits a rainbowed gasoline puddle on the street, as bright as a bruise.

What are the things you've turned to, in times when you've felt estranged from yourself?

Yours,

Gina