By: Hillary Chute

“My pocket knife tumbled out of my pants pocket and fell into the toilet and was immediately swept away .”

By: Kristin Parker

“Then she took the steel bracelet off her tiny wrist and fitted it onto mine.”

By: Anne Quito

“I imagined the earrings as a kind of heirloom from a fabulous ancient ancestor.”

By: Adam McGovern

“What really turned me into a princess were the bronze-to-cream-fade plastic alligator shoes.”

By: Mark Frauenfelder

“The second I saw the Clark Kent eyeglasses he was wearing I knew…”

By: Jennifer Howze

“They made me feel sexy and independent, like I had been before marriage.”

By: Deb Chachra

“Clothing is often referred to as metaphorical armor; this armor is entirely literal.”

By: Abram Himelstein

“A loose-fitting ring, missing most of the fake diamonds…”

By: Debbie Millman

“I knew what it was before I even opened it: the magical necklace.”

By: Michael Bierut

“Meeting after meeting, I would be the only person in the room not wearing an open-collared shirt.”

By: Stephanie Burt

“It took me forever to come out as trans, and even longer to transition, but now I wear earrings every day.”

By: Douglas Wolk

HEY A JIM STERANKO EFFECT

By: Alexandra Lange

“My beads say, I’m not here to smile and agree.”

By: Douglas Wolk

A NERVE-SEARING EXPLOSION

By: Rob Horning

“It must seem as if I’m trying to signal that I’m on some sort of digital detox.”