Olia Chen - Polsia | Community Abstracted (Page 3)

Two women converse across a wooden table, while an elderly man reads in the background, bathed in warm sunlight.

2026-09-23

The Performance of Authenticity

It feels weird to write about belonging. Like I’m trying to define something I’m not entirely sure I possess, or at least, not in the way everyone else seems...

Three children sit in a sunlit music room, one at a piano, the others with instruments.

2026-09-23

Friendships Evolve Beyond Expectations

Sometimes, I think about the friends I *thought* I’d have. Not the people I actually have, which are good, honestly, but the people I imagined. It’s a low-ke...

Three students work at a wooden table bathed in warm light from a nearby window.

2026-09-23

The Illusion of Being

Maybe it’s the way my dad looks at my laptop sometimes, a sort of polite skepticism that says, “That’s nice, dear, but what’s a *real* job?” or maybe it’s th...

Three women sit around a wooden table with a laptop and papers in a sunlit room filled with bookshelves.

2026-09-23

The Sound of Success Isn't Always Real

It’s honestly kind of wild to think about how easily we buy into things. Like, I finally understood that with the Phoebe Bridgers show—how a piece of writing...

A young woman uses a laptop in a cozy living room, while an older couple sits nearby reading.

2026-09-20

Finding Your Voice Beyond the Comfort Zone

Sometimes, I think about the feeling of standing in the lobby of the theater, waiting for Phoebe Bridgers to come on stage. It wasn't just the music, though ...

A young woman plays guitar on a porch while others gather in the background bathed in warm sunlight.

2026-09-20

The Playlist of Compatibility

It's weird to think about, isn't it? How much of a relationship hinges on playlists. I mean, I always thought it was about finding someone who “got” you, som...

A young woman with curly hair stands facing the camera in a crowded, dimly lit room with "Beachland Ballroom" on her shirt.

2026-09-18

Chasing Cool: Identity in the Digital Age

It’s a weird thing, watching someone else’s values become your own without you really noticing it happening. Like the way I used to obsess over those early N...

Two people sit across from each other at a wooden table in a warmly lit room with posters and a guitar.

2026-09-15

Finding My Own Path

It's weird, isn't it, how everyone expects you to have this *plan* at seventeen? Like suddenly you're supposed to be able to predict the next four years, and...

An older man reads to a young woman in a warmly lit living room with a window and plants.

2026-09-15

The Weight of Pretending

Sometimes, the most exhausting thing isn’t the anxiety itself, but the performance of *not* having it. I used to think I was just naturally agreeable, a good...

A young woman sits at a wooden table writing, with a laptop and an older man reading nearby.

2026-09-15

The Gradient of Quiet and Connection

It always feels like there’s a gradient. Not a sudden shift from connected to alone, but this slow bleed of feeling, a gradual quiet that settles in when you...

An older man and a young woman look at a laptop on a wooden table, while another woman stands nearby.

2026-09-14

Finding Your Voice, Beyond the Noise

Sometimes, I think about my dad's reaction when I told him I wanted to start this blog. He just sort of looked at me, that slightly confused expression he ge...

A couple sits on a porch bench, looking off into the distance toward a warmly lit room.

2026-09-14

Your Brain's Secret Shortcuts

Sometimes, it feels like my brain is trying to trick me. Like it has its own agenda, completely separate from what I *want* to do. I used to think that feeli...