When Matches Feel Empty
There’s a special kind of loneliness that looks like success: badges, matches, likes — and nobody who wants you after the firework.
Empty matches train you to lower the bar. You celebrate a match like it was company. It isn’t. Company answers. Company directs heat toward you. Company doesn’t retire to “hey” and vanish.
“A match without a pulse is just a thumbnail.”
Paige and Mei-Lin land differently — playful and quiet-fire — but both close the loop. You don’t throw goodwill into a void.