Lessons in Chemistry (and Criticism)

I recently had a transformative exchange with a reader who told me they were unsubscribing from this column because I often write about issues that can be kind of a bummer. 

Like many tender-hearted weirdos, my usual response to any type of criticism is to ugly cry and consume an entire box of cheese straws. But this person was so kind and thoughtful that it made me want to examine their insight further. 

So I read over the last few months’ work, and it's true that even when I think I’m keeping it light, things like explosive growth and water wars (which we lost, btw) find their way into these ‘graphs. As someone who covers her eyes when she sees roadkill, I could see how too much attention to Savannah’s unpretty parts can be dispiriting. 

I just don’t need more problems to feel badly about, they gently explained. Not that they expected me to provide solutions to it all, but their inbox bleats every day with evermore troubling emails, they continued, and it felt necessary to cull the situation to preserve their sanity. As a rabid unsubscriber of lists, newsletters, coupons, discount codes and whatever else I can block to get my email down to zero, I totally get it.

It’s OK, I sniffed. I’m not out here tryna to please everybody. 

That’s a lie; of course I am.