Stop Listening to Potential
Potential is one of the most dangerous things to fall in love with. It looks hopeful, optimistic, and full of possibility. It whispers, “Just give it more time,” or, “They’ll change once they’re ready.” Before long, you find yourself building a relationship around who someone could become instead of...
My Sister Announced Her Pregnancy at My Wedding
MENACE BY TESSA PRESENTS DEAR TESSA BLOOD, BESTIES & BETRAYAL LETTER NO. 005 | LOYALTY IS COMPLICATED She spent eighteen months planning her wedding, only to watch her sister turn the reception into an unexpected pregnancy announcement. Now her family says she should be happy about becoming an aunt, while she’s...
Availability Is Not a Personality Trait
Somewhere along the way, many of us started believing that being a good person meant always being available. We answered every phone call, responded to every text immediately, rearranged our schedules for other people, and said yes even when every part of us wanted to say no. We wore our reliability like a badge of …...
The Shopping Cart Isn’t Going to Return Itself
MENACE BY TESSA PRESENTS PUBLIC NUISANCES PUBLIC NOTICE NO. 002 | STATUS: ON NOTICE An ongoing examination of abandoned shopping carts, questionable parking lot decisions, and the mysterious inability of otherwise functioning adults to return wheeled equipment to its designated location. 01. The Disturbance It begins in the...
Some People Are Lessons
Not everyone who enters your life is meant to stay. Some people arrive to encourage you, some arrive to challenge you, and some arrive to teach you lessons you could have learned no other way. The difficult part is that we often mistake every meaningful connection for a permanent one. We assume that because someone …...
He’s Still Friends With Every Ex. Should I Be Worried?
MENACE BY TESSA PRESENTS DEAR TESSA LOVE, LIES & RED FLAGS LETTER NO. 004 | LOVE IS COMPLICATED He’s thoughtful, affectionate, and apparently on excellent terms with every woman he’s ever dated. But when his exes have a permanent place in his life, where does that leave his current girlfriend? DEAR TESSA,...
Potential Doesn’t Pay the Bills
Potential is one of the most expensive things you can invest in when it’s never backed by action. We fall in love with what someone could become, what a job might turn into, what a dream may eventually produce, or what life should look like if everything finally falls into place. Hope isn’t the problem. …...
Case #001: The Mysterious Disappearance of Basic Manners
MENACE BY TESSA PRESENTS THE CASE FILES CASE NO. 001 | STATUS: CLOSED An ongoing investigation into the alarming decline of common courtesy. 01. The Incident Report Somewhere between the invention of the smartphone and the rise of people filming themselves in grocery stores, basic manners apparently packed a suitcase and...
The Best Revenge Was Getting My Life Together
There was a time when I wanted people to regret how they treated me. I wanted them to see what they lost, apologize for the pain they caused, and finally recognize the value they overlooked. I replayed conversations in my head, imagined different endings, and hoped that one day they’d realize they were wrong. The …...
The Audacity Report
If I had to write a report on some of the behavior I’ve witnessed over the years, the findings would be almost unbelievable. The evidence would include broken promises disguised as good intentions, excuses recycled so many times they sounded rehearsed, boundaries ignored as though they were merely suggestions, and confidence that...
