1. Riding in the car with my ex down a country road. The windows were down and I was holding his hand, and I felt safe and happy. Two things I rarely feel at the same time.

2. Dancing to "Happy" by Pharrell with my niece in my mom's living room when she was like 2.5.

3. A phone conversation with a different ex when I told him a story about how I found Black Santa blankets and bought them for my family, and how I wasn't giving mine up, although someone might like the design on mine better. He laughed and laughed. I felt seen and safe and me.

4. A Chinese restaurant with my brother and cousin. We were all in our late teens/early 20s. I don't remember what we talked about, but I remember laughing a lot and feeling connected.

5. Some of the better, more intense sexual experiences I had.

This was a surprisingly hard question to answer. None of these events took place in the last year, which is interesting. You would think it would easier to remember things that didn't happen that long ago. Or perhaps I just haven't felt that alive in a while.