M.C. Easton

Five Great Lessons from Growing up Mormon

Anyone who knows me or reads my blog knows I’m a feminist and that I have some trouble with the doctrines and practices of the faith I was raised in. But I lived to tell the tale, and it’s a complex one. Despite the church’s uncomplicated position on feminism (Boyd K. Packer, who was recentlyContinue reading “Five Great Lessons from Growing up Mormon”

High Noon at the Vertigo Saloon

Step right up, folks! Step right up! Ladies and gentlemen, prepare to be dazzled! Prepare to be amazed! Those lucky few selected for this experiment will soon find the ground shifting beneath their feet. The very floor beneath you will bounce like a ship on choppy seas. Even when you sit perfectly still, the worldContinue reading “High Noon at the Vertigo Saloon”

Happiness Comes from the Shadows

Yesterday my coworkers and I were discussing Swedish thrillers and horror movies. “Yeah,” one of them said. “Sure, it’s one of the happiest places on earth. But what’s really behind all that happiness?” We each had our hypotheses. Mine was that alongside that highly developed happiness, there is also a highly developed id. But then,Continue reading “Happiness Comes from the Shadows”

Why I Attended the DIY Academy of Art Instead of an MFA

Becoming an artist can be expensive. If you go for an MFA, that can easily be upwards of $30,000. If you attend a private conservatory, like Cornish College of the Arts, it can cost you more than $36,000 a year. Just for undergraduate tuition alone. And after you graduate, chances are bleak that you willContinue reading “Why I Attended the DIY Academy of Art Instead of an MFA”

10 Ways to Be a Kickass Feminist, Part 2

Two roads diverged in a wood: To kick ass, or not to kick ass? My friends and I aspire to the former, so here’s the final five of my top ten ways to be a badass feminist: Stop reading those dating advice sites. First of all, it will make you paranoid. Just take a lookContinue reading “10 Ways to Be a Kickass Feminist, Part 2”

10 Ways to Be a Kickass Feminist

My own definition of a feminist is a man or a woman who says, yes, there’s a problem with gender as it is today and we must fix it, we must do better. All of us, women and men, must do better. – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Sometimes, though, I need reminders of my own awesomenessContinue reading “10 Ways to Be a Kickass Feminist”

Trouble Finding Your Voice? Try Memoir

I used to have a lot of questions, like “When should I add in detail, and how much detail is too much?” And “How can I know when to use free indirect discourse?” My writing teachers didn’t have good answers to these questions and neither did the writing textbooks I came across. But then, atContinue reading “Trouble Finding Your Voice? Try Memoir”

The Healing Grace of Friendship

My father, like most fathers of daughters, had no sense of fairness. On camping trips, he assigned my mother and me to dish duty while he and my brother built fires and checked fuel and lit lanterns. I asked to learn, and he always refused. Maybe he genuinely thought these were skills I’d never need.Continue reading “The Healing Grace of Friendship”

The Friends Who Can’t Be Bothered to Engage with the World

We all have boundaries. But some of us are ashamed of those boundaries or afraid to assert them because we don’t know how people will react. It’s a reasonable fear. I asserted boundaries with a landlord and ended up kicked out. It happens. But some of us just can’t work ourselves up to saying, “I’mContinue reading “The Friends Who Can’t Be Bothered to Engage with the World”

Guilt Is Just Laziness

I should be ashamed of myself. When I do something I shouldn’t–skip a workout, criticize someone in anger, or stay up so late I’m a bitch the next day–I feel guilty. And that’s usually where it ends. I check off the box that says I’m a good person and move on. It’s a problem. GuiltContinue reading “Guilt Is Just Laziness”