With wisdom teeth comes the nagging poke of maturity and age. Decoding the anxieties and returning growing pains of a queer individual, who is confident in their identity of self but lacking in its actualization through queer experiences.

Moving back to my hometown when the pandemic hit was a reaffirmation of the loneliness that dysfunctional homes can breed. But living in isolation made me notice the pots of red tiger lilies outside my window blooming for the third year in a row, for the first time.