juliana ong

But joy does not just belong to the young, and if we’re lucky, joy finds us across life’s various stages as we age and change. And even under the most trying of circumstances — when facing a grave diagnosis or living with a debilitating chronic condition — life is not simply illnesses, ailments, and misery.

My new age friends call that state of being pronoia , the opposite of paranoia. Instead of believing everyone is out to get you, you believe everyone is out to help you. Strangers are working behind your back to keep you going, prop you up, and get you on your path. The story of your life becomes one huge elaborate conspiracy to lift you up. But to... See more

Our care has become privatized and systematized, hirable, exportable, industrialized, and depersonalized. In this reality, our romantic partner, our nuclear system, has become a gateway towards what care we can afford, participate in, and access.

It makes sense to me that, the gravity of finding, “my person,” is the one holdout against the... See more

At the heart of it, each one of us longs for care, support, love, and generosity. What I have found, is how easy it can be to default into ideals of romance as the strategy to meeting these longings. Yet, the opportunity to creatively return ourselves to the wholeness of village life, is an act of defiant lovemaking to the spirit of our humanity.... See more

In a world where care can feel like a sparse resource, the dream of finding “the one” evokes a fantastical reverie, in which one is promised lightness and ease. If only, the right person could arrive, and we can relax into fully being seen, held, and resourced for the rest of our days.

This mindset is one I have been grappling with for much of my... See more

It’s almost impossible to have an easy life and be interesting. Suffering is what gives people texture.

But I know what love feels like; it is a feeling I can never forget. I understand that in its desperate pursuit, one may end up alone, but I’d rather be alone, hoping, than lonely in a marriage with someone who's never moved me to write a poem about them.