Epic Weekend Serves Up LGBTQ-ATL Halloween
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What’s Up with PALS Fur Ball?
ibson G d a r B t is t Ar osplay c , p m a c s rule oration b a ll o c r e e and qu
Their Highlight Reel vs. Your Behind the Scenes Pride Insiders Hurl Ethics Controversy & Gay Drama October 31, 2019
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EDITOR’S NOTE Q Q MAGAZINE THE WEEKLY PUBLICATION OF PROJECT Q ATLANTA PUBLISHERS INITIAL MEDIA, LLC MIKE FLEMING PUBLISHER & EDITOR MIKE@THEQATL.COM MATT HENNIE PUBLISHER & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MATT@THEQATL.COM RICHARD CHERSKOV PUBLISHER & GENERAL MANAGER RICHARD@THEQATL.COM ART DIRECTOR JOHN NAIL JOHN@THEQATL.COM PROJECT Q ATLANTA PATRICK SAUNDERS EDITOR PSAUNDERS@THEQATL.COM
Queer
MASKS
IT SHOULD COME AS no shocker that the faces we put forward in the
world aren’t perfect reflections of the warts-and-all lives we lead. Even before social media, and certainly now in the peak age of it, humans gloss over their worst selves with their best intentions. Playing with the duality of ideal alter egos vs. real or perceived inner demons becomes an especially favorite pastime at Halloween and into the nomans-land between now and Thanksgiving. This week’s Q finds one local LGBTQ creator and maker who makes an art form out of it year-round.
CONTRIBUTORS IAN ABER LAURA BACCUS GABRIELLE CLAIBORNE BUCK COOKE CHARLES E. DAVIS JON DEAN BILL DICKINSON JIM FARMER BRAD GIBSON JAMES L. HICKS BENTLEY HUDGINS TAMEEKA L. HUNTER HEATHER MALONEY ERIC PAULK KYLE ROSE JAMES PARKER SHEFFIELD VINCE SHIFFLETT ALEXANDRA TYLER VAVA VROOM RUSS BOWEN-YOUNGBLOOD
Artist Brad Gibson gives visual life to my advice column at the back of each issue, but he’s so much MIKE FLEMING more than an illustrator. A fulltime graphic artist, EDITOR & PUBLISHER popular t-shirt designer, amazing cosplayer, talented drag aficionado and certified gay gadabout, Gibson lets us in on his life of transformation in our cover story.
NATIONAL ADVERTISING RIVENDELL MEDIA SALES@RIVENDELLMEDIA.COM 212-242-6863
So assuming you are you and Q is Q, we already know that you can turn pages to also find photos from recent events in Q Shots, and businesses that have your back on our advertising pages. You also know that we update items of local queer interest every day at theQatl.com, and that I am here for you via mike@theQatl.com.
LOCAL ADVERTISING SALES@THEQATL.COM 404-949-7071
Speaking of the masks we wear, Pets Are Loving Support throws its annual Fur Ball gala on Friday, and we have the scoop in Q Events. And speaking of events, this issue offers not only the Queer Agenda calendar but a breakout listing of every Halloween happening we could find. Trouble is also brewing over at Atlanta Pride, as infighting and serious accusations fly in every direction about unethical human resources and general ineptitude. Q Community offers an early taste of what our reporter is uncovering, and the ongoing drama unfolds with fresh interviews as they become available on theQatl.com. If you are still comparing people’s mask on social media to your just-woke-up visage in the mirror, stop it. Not only is it flawed logic, it’s unhealthy. The Q advice column digs into a couple cases from social media’s dark side.
Until next week, we’ll always put our best face forward. theQatl.com
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
VOLUME 2 ISSUE 49 OCTOBER 31, 2019
COSTUME PARTY
LGBTQ Halloween Events
COVER
18 15
Serving Faces Artist Brad Gibson talks t-shirts and cosplay
Q COMMUNITY
13 8
Cluster Muck
24 Overtime
The murky truth behind the scenes of Atlanta Pride THE QUEER AGENDA
16 FEATURES
Q Community
6
8
The Queer Agenda
13
Q Shots
24
The Q
30
theQatl.com
To Do List
25 Mayoral Mingle
Your best-bet events for the week ahead
38 28 Chug It
Richard Cherskov
Michael Birnholz
richard.cherskov@cruiseplanners.com
michael.birnholz@cruiseplanners.com
888-402-0004 richardandmichael.travel
Q
COMMUNITY
Photo by Matt Hennie
Atlanta’s 2019 Pride Parade
Pride SHAKEUP
Atlanta Pride board chair resigns, calls for leadership change
Pride’s staff, board and volunteer committee members, Cox
By Patrick Saunders
corporate sponsors and, therefore, plenty of money.”
THE DAY BEFORE OFFICIAL ATLANTA PRIDE 2019 events began, the board chair resigned his position after a failed effort to oust the group’s executive director.
Sean Cox resigned on Oct. 10. In an Oct. 21 letter to Atlanta 8
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warned that the non-profit faces “significant financial issues, staff management issues, contract issues” and sponsor complaints. The letter was obtained by Project Q Atlanta. In the letter, Cox said Atlanta Pride has “plenty of willing
“But what that money tends to cover up in the short term, is lack of effective leadership and management within the organization,” he wrote. “As a community, we often select people who may be great ‘for the cause’ activists, or people who have
been involved with an organization for a long time, to lead our LGBTQ+ organizations.”
Cox resigned from the board after five years as a member
and two years as chair. He had pushed for the ouster of Jamie
Fergerson, who was hired as Atlanta Pride’s executive director in 2015. She was a former board member and longtime volunteer with the organization before being named executive director.
A small business owner, Cox warned in his letter that having an executive director without the necessary business man-
agement skills “can spell ruin for any organization. He wrote that he worked with Fergerson since her hiring “to try to
raise the level of business acumen, to try to coach and develop, and to push for more accountability,” but that he found
‘As a community, we often select people who may be great ‘for the cause’ activists, or people who have been involved with an organization for a long time, to lead our LGBTQ+ organizations.’ — From Sean Cox’s letter to Atlanta Pride’s staff, board and committee members FERGERSON: COX ‘NOT TRUTHFUL’ Fergerson hit back at much of what Cox claimed in his letter and claimed he violated internal Atlanta Pride policies by revealing his concerns.
“It’s unfortunate he’s taking this tactic,” she told Project Q
Atlanta. “The letter contains a number of errors and things that are not truthful or accurate.”
Fergerson wants to remain on as Atlanta Pride’s executive di-
rector, and “just to be clear, the majority of the board has voted to support that,” she said. She also claimed that the board
presented Cox with a motion to remove him based on viola-
tions of Atlanta Pride’s confidentiality and ethics policy.
“Because I’m bound by those same policies, I can’t say anything more than that,” she said. Sean Cox (above); Jamie Ferguson (inset) “problem after problem and resistance to the push for change and growth.”
Cox said that Atlanta Pride has lagged
behind “significantly” in financial growth
since 2016 compared to other Pride organizations. He added that about 75 percent of the group’s 2016 to 2020 strategic plan “is off-track or failed.”
Cox discussed Fergerson’s alleged issues with the rest of the
Atlanta Pride board, according to the letter. It’s unclear when this conversation took place.
“While nearly half the board agreed that a change was needed, others on the board felt that I should leave the organization because I had proposed this change,” he wrote.
Fergerson disputed Cox’s claims that
Atlanta Pride is in financial trouble and
pointed out that their financial forms are public information.
“You can look at them and see that we
have beaten budget every year since 2015,
we have strong reserves and that this year’s festival is financially the best we’ve ever had,” she said.
At press time, an internal report came to light. An independent investigator hired by Atlanta Pride in July suggested
deep dysfunction, HR issues with staff, and the removal of Ferguson as director.
Project Q Atlanta is f iling updates as other committee volunteers, staff and board members come forward with their pieces of the story. Visit theQatl.com.
theQatl.com
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EVENTS Q
Just
FUR
Fun
Five things you need to know about PALS Fur Ball By Mike Fleming
general admission benefits. General admission is $75.
WHEN A SEA OF MASKED PARTIERS INVADES THE Fox Theatre on Friday, it won’t be just another Halloween Weekend costume party. No, this seasonal masquerade is the annual gala that brings in big bucks for Pets Are Loving Support.
WHO PALS peeps and you, of course! But also the talents of DJ Sed the Saint, as well as sponsor representatives from Project Q and Q magazine, Piedmont Bark, and more.
Welcome to Fur Ball. The gay-founded, queer-run and LGBTQ-beloved agency that helps critically ill people feed, keep and care for their pets makes a chunk of their donation budget during the annual event. We thought it fitting to round up five fast facts that will get you to and through the door for the cause and the fun. “It’s something PALS introduced last year, and it was such a success, we decided to make it a regular thing,” said Buck Cooke, executive director of PALS. “Everyone who went loved it, and we guarantee a good time.” WHAT A dress-to-impress masked ball. Wear your own or wear one of the souvenir masks provided at the door. Look for a silent auction to boost fundraising as well. Items up for bids include travel, art, gifts, restaurant certificates and tons more goodies.
WHEN The event takes place on Friday, Nov. 1, with a VIP cocktail reception at 7 p.m. and the main event at 8 p.m. WHERE Fox Theatre’s fabulous Egyptian Ballroom sets the scene and provides the ambiance. WHY As if the PALS cause wasn’t enough! OK fine. Guests will definitely enjoy the open bar, heavy hors d’oeuvres and live entertainment supplementing the DJ beats. Visit palsatlanta.org for tickets and more information.
VIP tickets are $100 per person and include an early-admission cocktail hour, a gift bag, and all
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Fresh content served daily
Q
THE QUEER AGENDA The Best Queer Things To Do in Atlanta This Week
October 31 – November 6 THURSDAY, OCT. 31 – SUNDAY, NOV. 3 Big Gay Halloween
SATURDAY, NOV. 2 Urban Tree Comedy Ian Aber’s comic lineup blasts into your world with commentary and laughs @ Urban Tree Cidery, 7 p.m. urbantreecidery.com
See our breakout events calendar big
Bianca Del Rio
enough to hold all the Halloween this LGBTQ town can muster in this issue,
The It’s Jester Joke Tour comes to town @ Center
with even more at theQatl.com.
Stage, 8 p.m. centerstage-atlanta.com Krewella
FRIDAY, NOV. 1
Help raise funds for Blake
MAAP Mix & Mingle
with this amazing
Happy hour never tasted quite the way it does with Metro
talent @ My Sister’s
Atlanta Association of Professionals. This time @ My Sister’s
Room, 10 p.m.
Room, 6 p.m. maapatl.com
mysistersroom.com
Fur Ball
SUNDAY, NOV. 3
It’s a masquerade gala to benefit Pets Are Loving
Adam Rippon
Support, and you’re invited
The out Olympian you love to follow on
@ Fox Theatre Egyptian Ball-
Instagram stages a conversation with CNN’s
room, 7 p.m. Read our preview in this
Holly Firfer to promote his book Beautiful on the
issue. palsatlanta.org
Outside @ Marcus Jewish Community Center, 7:30
Gays For Plays
p.m. grandcentralpublishing.com
The social group for theater queens hits La Cage Aux Folles
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 6
@ Out Front Theatre, 7 p.m. outfronttheatre.com
Friends Trivia Night The gay-run taco stand with the gay-popular games runs the boards @ Guac y Margys, 7 p.m. guacymargys.com Find more queer things to do in the expanded edition of the Queer Agenda at theQatl.com.
FRIDAY, NOV. 1 Elton John
The one. The only. He’s
still standin’ @ State Farm
Arena, 8 p.m. eltonjohn.com
Werq the World RuPaul’s Drag Race’s latest whirlwind hits town @ Atlanta Symphony Hall, 8 p.m. worldofwonder.com theQatl.com
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14
HALLOWEEN AGENDA
theQatl.com
ALL
DRESSED UP…
…and all these places to go for Halloween fun
THURSDAY, OCT. 31
Fur Ball
Haunted Hoedown
Country dancing, no cover and cash prizes for
best costumes @ Heretic, 8 p.m. hereticatlanta.com Deadly Divas
The drag dinner
PALS Atlanta throws its annual fab masquer-
ade. Dress to impress @ Fox Theatre Egyptian
Ballroom, 7 p.m. See our preview in this issue. palsatlanta.org
Leather Masquerade
cabaret queens
Onyx Southeast hosts this black knights
serve a Hal-
event with DJ Ron Pullman up top
loween theme
@ Atlanta Eagle, 10 p.m.
@ Lips, 6 p.m.
atlantaeagle.com
lipsatl.com
Celestial Seasonings Horrorshow
It’s spooky video night with DJ Mister Richard and discounts for costumes @ Woofs, all night.
Celeste Holmes and the queens serve
your costumed pleasure @ Blake’s, 11 p.m. blakesontheparkatlanta.com
SATURDAY, NOV. 2
Leather Masquerade
woofsatlanta.com Fright Night
Late-night Halloween dance party with the
House of Alxndr @ The Bakery, 12 midnight. facebook.com/houseofalxndr
Georgia Blood Garden
The queer-owned,
straight-inclusive Edgewood peeps change the name and change the game with a screening of Blade, then an
Underground Vampire Rave @ Georgia Beer Garden,
7 p.m. and 11 p.m. georgiabeergarden.com
Ooooo Bearacuda
The 10th Anniversary of the recurring party is going to be lit with DJ Paul Goodyear @ Heretic, 10 p.m. hereticatlanta.com Redd Light District
Pussy Cat Karaoke
Dress up because Ruby Redd
Angelica D’Paige Brooks serves pussy (cat) with you
and her queens serve up Hal-
on the soundtrack @ Midtown Moon,
loween’s second weekend with
10 p.m. facebook.com/midtownmoon
Trashetta and Lacie @ Midtown
FRIDAY, NOV. 1
Moon, 8:30 p.m. facebook.com/
Calavera
midtownmoon
This is the Day of the Dead
costume contest circuit party you
can’t miss. Mexico City DJ Adrian Dalera @ Heretic, 10 p.m. hereticatlanta.com
Angelica D’Paige Brooks
Pop!
The weekend is always poppin’ @ Blake’s on the Park, 9 p.m. blakesontheparkatlanta.com
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15
Q
COVER
P POIconography
Artist Brad Gibson talks T-shirts, Cosplay, Otherness and the Art of Transformation By Mike Fleming
Y
ou very probably see Brad Gibson’s artwork on a regular basis already. You could easily be wearing one of his t-shirt designs right now and not even know it. In fact, since this busy artist is a master of cosplay too, you could even know Gibson personally, look right at him, and not know it’s him. To say Gibson, 40, is prolific out-of-costume as well would be an understatement. His one-of-a-kind designs are featured on the gay graphic tee label Swish Embassy, his own Neon Horror page on Tee Public, marketing materials for the likes of Joining Hearts, and collaborations with queer Atlanta’s own ABetterBuzz Brand Goods. His illustrations also appear in merchandise for local and national queens, and even RuPaul judge Ross Matthews. Gibson could take on design as a full-time gig, and he does. But it’s just the tip of a very creative iceberg. “By day, I am a Marketing Director for a Production Company, and I juggle that with my design and illustration business,” the artist says. “They both take up about equal time now, so it’s two full-time jobs.” Among more expert-level makeup and costume transformations at events like Dragon*Con and queer fundraisers all over town, he has done a spot-on Trixie Mattel and other pop culture staples and 18
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mashups, glamorous drag, and truly terrifying demons and monsters. “I am inspired a lot by the 1980s and the toys, cartoons, music, horror movies I grew up with,” Gibson tells Q. “They clearly made an imprint on my soul, because they were my refuge growing up as a queer kid in the mountains of Kentucky.” Add to that list of activity the illustrations appearing on the last page of every Q magazine. Each and every week, he visually interprets the letters and responses in the magazine’s advice column. “I love the weekly advice toons,” he says. “I love the challenge of interpreting these letters each week, and I try to approach them with a distinctly queer point of view.” Gibson took time with Q to dig in and explore his queer point of view, his work and play, his background and inspirations, and his singular perspective for this cover and cover story. Tell us about your growing up. I’m from a small town in Kentucky called Raven. Very small Appalachian town. I grew up in a holler! Very close to where country music icon Loretta Lynn is from. And since my dad was a coal miner, you could say I’m a Coal Miner’s Daughter. How long have you been in Atlanta? Since 2003, on and off. I actually used to be a singer and dancer for about a decade, and I would travel away for gigs. I’d work on cruise ships, at theme parks (including Dollywood! One of my favorite gigs ever), and wherever I could get a gig that would pay the bills. But Atlanta was always homebase for me. Everyone wants to know your relationship status. I’ve been in a relationship with Grilled Cheese since I was able to chew… so like 38 years. Also, I guess my Steven counts too, and that’s been 15 years.
Photo by Russ Bowen-Youngblood theQatl.com
19
Q
ARTIST continued How did you get started designing t-shirts?
often, so we’ll see where/if that goes anywhere in the future.
I have a degree in illustration/ design and had a former job at a t-shirt printing company, and I took to it like a fish to water. For my personal brand, it all really started a few years ago when one of my best friends wanted us to have t-shirts made for a Dolly Parton concert we were attending.
There are a few specific looks I want to do so bad that I haven’t had the time to put together yet… but one day they will happen.
I came up with the phrase “Beg Your Parton” and drew a cutesy cartoon Dolly to go with it. At the concert so many folks were asking where we got the shirts because they thought they were some of her official merch. From there, I did some groundwork to figure out how to best go about producing them, and about a year later I launched my shops. Two years later I have over 200 designs of varying taste. What inspires your designs, and where can we find them? Sometimes it will be something someone says, a movie I’ve watched, a comic book I’ve read, or something I’ve seen on TV. I really don’t discriminate in what I create, because I want there to be something for everyone. It’s all basically all pop culture through my lens. I have designs in my shop, Neon Horror, on TeePublic. You can also find designs I’ve made or collaborated with on Swish Embassy, and a really fun collaboration I did recently with ABetterBuzz Brand Goods. I am also fortunate enough to have illustrated several designs for drag queens, other publications, and queer performers for their merch. You’ve got quite a reputation for epic cosplay. I love transformation, I love becoming something that otherwise would only live in my brain, and those transformations tend to come from my interests and inspirations and get filtered through my own aesthetic. Costumes and makeup always feel like an extension of my art, of my illustration. And like my illustration, I try throwing any and all of it out there and see what I respond to and what people respond to. I always love playing with gender and giving androgynous looks, but I will definitely turn out a full female illusion LEWK should the occasion call for it. I would love to do drag performing more 20
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What can you tell us about your process on the Q advice column? I typically read the letter and break it down to its’ simplest central statement, then I explore what imagery comes to me from there. Because my brain works the way it does, I almost always ask someone if they get the reference, and (hopefully) I think they mostly land. Something else I try to do as often as possible is to make the characters gender ambiguous, so that they could resonate as widely as possible. If the topic of the letter is Photo by Russ Bowen-Youngblood more serious, I try to not ever make light of the situation or turn it into a punchline. While I’m about as sarcastic and dry as they come, I try to never approach anything in a posture of malice. It seems like you’re always busy. How do you stay so prolific? I have always steered my sails in the direction I felt the universe taking me. If something really interests me, and more importantly if I think I have something to add to the conversation, I go for it… with varying degrees of success. I tend to embrace risks and am completely inspired by others who do. I feel like I take elements of myself and heighten them through art, and I tend to have conversations I want to have through artistic expression. I’ve never subscribed to the idea of creatively staying in one lane, because I want to explore my potential. My point of view and creative input go into costumes, illustration, design, marketing, events and nearly everything I do. My motto is YOLOTIKO (You only live once that I know of ), so why not be a sponge and soak up as much of it as you can? I don’t take myself or life too seriously, and I think my art reflects that. How informed is your work by being queer? My work is informed by experiences as a queer person who came to terms with it a lot later than the younger generation now seems to. I’m a student of pop culture, music, art, otherness, and it all influences me in different ways.
Q
ARTIST continued I have never felt that I fit in any subsect of queer culture, so I
just immerse myself in as much of it as I can. I try to be friends with as many different types of individuals as possible to broaden my point of view.
What do you think makes a ‘queer aesthetic’? There are plenty of works of art that aren’t specifical-
ly made by queer individuals that resonate with queer people, and I’m sure vice versa.
Also, speaking of vice versa, I had a teacher in 3rd grade that
would call it “VICEY VERSEY ” which I always thought was odd, and now I look back on that and think “That was a teacher, she was teaching us.” But I digress.
I don’t think I could ever exactly pinpoint what makes something queer because it feels so broad, but I do hope that
people see that what I do is influenced and informed by my inherit queerness and the way I see the world.
Tell us about Ross Matthews’ new book Name Drop. It’s the first time my illustrations are featured in a worldwide
He has been a dream to work with. Shameless plug: Pre-or-
ders for that book are now. I have read it, and it is highly, highly entertaining. Plus, all pre-sales count toward
first week sales, so I’m crossing my fingers I’ll soon
be a New York Times Best Selling Illustrator! C’mon
2020 be good to me.
You seem to collaborate well and often — ABetterBuzz,
Ross Matthews, Joining Hearts, to name a few. Do you see that continuing?
I’m always open to collaborating with other queer artists and feel
beyond blessed to have worked with the queer entertainers, queer publications, non-profits, and other artists that have challenged me and allowed me to share with them and their livelihood. What else would you like to say to Queer Atlanta? There’s more to come from here. Just follow me on social media. And please feel free to say hi!
released book, coming in February! I became acquainted with
Find Brad Gibson’s t-shirt shop at teepublic.com/neonhorror.
Con table. When he asked if I would illustrate his upcoming
on Instagram.
Ross Mathews in the last year, then did merch for his Drag-
22
book, my jaw hit the floor.
theQatl.com
Follow him @NeonHorror on Facebook and @ChillaxinJackson
Q
Q SHOTS
NFFLA OVERTIME AT WOOFS
Full gallery on Project Q at theQatl.com 24
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PHOTOS BY RUSS BOWEN-YOUNGBLOOD
ATLANTA MAYOR’S LGBTQ RECEPTION
Full gallery on Project Q at theQatl.com
Q SHOTS Q
PHOTOS BY RUSS BOWEN-YOUNGBLOOD theQatl.com
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Q
Q SHOTS
BLAKE’S ON THE PARK
Full gallery on Project Q at theQatl.com
26
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PHOTOS BY RUSS BOWEN-YOUNGBLOOD
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Q
Q SHOTS
CHUG AT GEORGIA BEER GARDEN
Full gallery on Project Q at theQatl.com
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PHOTOS BY RUSS BOWEN-YOUNGBLOOD
Q
THEQ?! Time BANDITS
opportunities, it might help you to redefine success. Base your measuring stick on your own life, not someone else’s. Base
it on forces within your control — you practiced today, you made something that didn’t suck, you had a great idea, you
perfected a new technique, you contacted someone about a step toward progress.
It’s about progress, not perfection, and there are
Dreaming big, working hard and falling short of your arbitrary age deadline
plenty of rewards along the way if you look. Make a mental, or actual, list of things that have
improved since you were, say, 20. Be grateful
for the years. You’ve learned a lot. Revel in the
Q
time you spend on your dreams.
I’m rapidly approaching the age of no gay return, 40. Apparently, while I was busy having fun and
There is no age limit to suc-
cess, but there are limits in
dreaming of becoming famous and fabulous, younger peo-
our thinking. Glory and
ple are experiencing the success that still eludes me. They
riches aren’t guaran-
got that record deal. They got that relationship. They got the
teed even if you put
job that pays them to do what they love.
in the work, but they
Beyond my cat and my paycheck-to-paycheck job, I got squat.
definitely won’t come
I do work on my creative career in my off hours, and I love those
if you give up,
hours more than I can say, but the rewards are zero.
and you might
Is it too late for me to land my dreams?
find gold along
the rainbow rather
Dear Senior Citizen: Get a hold of yourself. Time is an illusion, and age is relative. The day is coming when you think 40 was young and you wasted it
worrying about getting old. All any of us has is today, our dreams and the efforts we invest in them.
The world, not just but especially queer culture, loves a fresh
young talent who fell into overnight success. But that’s a story with a dramatic ending and no context. The truth lies behind
the curated Instagram feeds, and your own satisfaction lies well beyond 40.
The 20- and 30-somethings you envy likely worked harder than meets the eye to attain their success, and if they truly fell into it without trying, they are just as likely to fall out of it. For every
one of them, there is someone who put in the hours and years, who kept trying and crying, falling and getting up again.
People’s chances come in all shapes and sizes and at any time.
They happen at age 19, 36, 42, 68 and 83. Those folks you’re coveting didn’t steal “your” chance; they grabbed theirs. Your success isn’t hidden somewhere within theirs.
While your eyes are on doing the work and seizing your own 30
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Q
than at the end.
I’m 25, and my friends queer and straight are settling down into post-worthy family units and careers. I’m
still just dating, slinging coffee, taking classes and trying to
figure out what I want to do with my life. When am I going to get it together? Dear Greenhorn: It’s hard to see the forest for the trees, but you are already getting it together — on your timeline. You’re holding down a job, going to school and keeping your heart open to relationships.
Progression is a process. It’s futile to envy other people’s success and measure your life with their ruler or their clock.
Social media can make it even harder, because people only show a Hollywood movie version of their lives. Don’t compare their highlight reel to your behind-the-scenes footage.
The Q is for entertainment purposes and not professional counseling. Send your burning Qs to mike@theqatl.com.
ILLUSTRATION BY BRAD GIBSON