It's ok to be single

"I've given up hope."

He said, "Don't give up hope".

I look at the pile of loss and failure and shake my head.

I can't have this in my life anymore. My accumulation of single earrings--unmatched and missing their partners--weighs on me.

After an initial earring loss, I actively look for the lost mate in the bottom of my purse and in couch cushions. For half a year, I reach for the earring to wear it, but then remember I only have one. For a year, I nurture belief that I might encounter its twin behind the toilet or in the foam of my bike helmet. But after a year the lone earring taunts me with waste, irresponsibility and uselessness.





I've found new life for my solitary jewels (none of them are actual jewels!) I am sending all of my single earrings to my friend Nicole whose art business is Plenty Underfoot. She will transform them from annoying to wearable once again. Her philosophy: The waste stream of consumer culture is full of creative potential.