Tiny Love Stories: “Sunsets Turned to All-Nighters”
Inspired by the New York Times, the Review’s “Tiny Love Stories” feature 100-word portraits of modern love in miniature. To submit your own tiny love story—whether it be happy, sad, or somewhere in between—email swatreview@swarthmore.edu or visit our Submissions Form.
“The first time I thought I loved a boy was late November, blasting music and watching the sunset from my car. Sunsets turned to all-nighters to watch the sunrise to bright summer days driving along PCH, windows down, salty wind stinging out eyes. And for the next five months, I’ve never so deeply felt the Cassandra Clare quote ‘and if my heart was a canvas, every square inch of it would be painted over with you.’ My stupid, naïve heart was so full of fondness I didn’t know how express, and a year later, I realized that maybe this was something beyond the romantic love I’d imagined it to be.” - Grace Liu ‘24
“Music is my medium of self-expression, and the saxophone is my vehicle. Its mechanical range is two and a half octaves, but its range of expression is no less than my own. It can growl, cheer, moan, and sob, depending on my emotions when I play. When I am happy, it exuberates; when I am down, it weeps so I don’t have to. It doesn’t bother me that it can utter no words, for when I listen to its music I get to listen to my own heart.” - Will Li ‘24
“My mom is a stay-at-home mom that got married at 23 and had her first child (me) at 27. My dad had to travel for work, so she was left caring for two kids on her own, making her overprotective and sometimes over-interfering in my life. Then, I left for boarding school and enjoyed the freedom, but last fall I realized I only had 4 years left with my parents. I felt guilty having left my mom, whose life had revolved around mine. If COVID hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have had the chance to stay home for longer and I wouldn’t have been able to do anything with my realization except mourn. So, despite everything, thank you COVID.” - Angie Kwon ‘24