C.R. Hughes
Stories (78/0)
My Dad is Not Superman
For three consecutive years (from third grade to fifth grade), I won a Father's Day essay contest that was hosted by my school district. At 25 years old now I don't really remember the specifics of what I wrote in any of those essays, but if I had to guess, I probably made my dad sound like some superhero in a comic book. Because for much of my life, that was how I saw him.
By C.R. Hughesabout a year ago in Men
We've Always Been Three
I was thirteen years old and my brother was ten, the night Mother came home with our little sister, soaking wet and wrapped in a beach towel. The baby was naked with a mess of curly black hair hiding her face from our view, but on her little chest was a seashell necklace, just like the ones my brother and I both had.
By C.R. Hughesabout a year ago in Fiction
Surrounding Myself With Successful People is Not What I Need To Get Ahead
One of the best representations of young adult life comes from season 2, episode 5 of the sitcom Friends. In this episode, Phoebe, Joey, and Rachel have to have the uncomfortable but necessary conversation with Ross, Monica, and Chandler about finances. The first group explains to their friends that they don’t make as much money as them so it’s difficult to hang out with them when the second group always wants to do things that are outside of what they can afford. And during this conversation, both groups bring up very good points. The more affluent group understands where their friends are coming from, but also state that, because they work hard for their money and enjoy doing more expensive activities sometimes (and can afford to do so), they aren’t going to feel bad for doing those things. And they really shouldn’t. But neither should their broke friends for not being able to do those things.
By C.R. Hughesabout a year ago in Confessions
Twilight Soundtracked My Teen Angst
If there was a poster child for teen angst in the late 2000s and early 2010s, it would have been Twilight. If Harry Potter was the defining era of my childhood, Twilight was the defining era of my adolescence. From 2008 to 2012, the films had a hold on tweens and teens everywhere, whether they loved the saga or loved to hate it. And I was a part of the first group.
By C.R. Hughesabout a year ago in Beat
I Tried a Queer Dating App and Almost Got Scared Straight. Top Story - June 2023.
Lipstick lesbians? Pillow princesses? Daddies? These were all brand new terms I encountered when I downloaded a dating app designed specifically for queer women. HER (the app in question) allows women to place badges in their profiles with titles like the ones listed above to let other women know what kind of queer they are.
By C.R. Hughesabout a year ago in Pride
From Above, With Love
To a lost mankind, which Mt. Zion overlooks: exodus is free. ------------------------------------------- If you enjoyed this, feel free to leave a like and/or tip. And if you really enjoy my work, click that subscribe button to see when I post something new and follow me on Instagram.
By C.R. Hughes2 years ago in Poets
5 Black Boy Bands of This Century That Deserve Better
If you’re anything like me (or several million people) at some point in your life, you went through a boy band phase. And if you’re even more like me, you haven’t grown out of it, you’ve just replaced one boy band with the next. Over the years, I’ve seen boy bands come and go (and sometimes come again). From the more obscure ones like NLT and IM5 to the global superstars like One Direction and BTS, boy bands have been a phenomena for decades.
By C.R. Hughes2 years ago in Beat
Rest Looks Different When You're Homeless
All my life, I've had a difficult relationship with rest. As a kid, I would stay up until I could see the sun peaking over the horizon because I had an intense fear of the dark. As a teenager, my fear of the dark went away, but it was replaced by severe insomnia linked to anxiety. Now as an adult, I've mostly overcome my night-related fears and have learned some tactics to alleviate my insomnia, but I still struggle to get a good night's sleep. Only now, it's not because my brain won't let me.
By C.R. Hughes2 years ago in Confessions
As a Closeted Bisexual, the Gay Jokes About Shawn Mendes Feel Personal. Top Story - January 2022.
On November 17, Shawn Mendes and Camilla Cabello broke the internet when they announced their break up after over two years of dating. As suspected, many took the opportunity to unleash the monster Shawn has been running from his entire career: the speculations about his sexuality.
By C.R. Hughes3 years ago in Pride
Fantage & Other MMORPGs: A Queer Awakening. Top Story - December 2021.
Six months ago, during the height of Pride Month, I wrote about some of my favorite LGBTQIA+ creators where I naively referred to myself as a "cishet ally." Since then I've done a lot of self reflection and ultimately, a lot of healing from childhood trauma leading to me being able to admit, for the very first time in my 23 years of life, that I am not straight. To be honest, the signs were always there.
By C.R. Hughes3 years ago in Pride