- When you can only afford water at the bar, you can say you’re on “a cleanse.”
- When you can’t afford shampoo and your hair gets clumpy and wild, you can say you’re from Venice Beach.
- When you’re wearing the same clothes you wore decades ago because you could never buy new ones, you can say you’re being “retro”.
- When your hair is greasy, your clothes are dirty, and you’re too skinny from hunger, you can say you are a “hipster”.
- When you need work, the tranny hookers in your neighborhood are a reminder that there are always jobs out there.
- When you can’t afford a gyno and Google’s advice is fingering yourself with tea tree oil, you can say you “like holistic healing.”
- When becoming homeless feels like a possibility, you can take solace in knowing everyone has a car to live in.
- When you start selling marijuana to pay your bills, you’re not alone.
- When acne takes over your face from being in survival mode, you can say it’s because you’re going to be the lead in an acne infomercial.
- When you have to ride the bus, the other people on the bus are a bright reminder of how sane you are.
- When you are biking because you can’t afford gas, you save money on gas.
- When hitchhiking seems like a good idea, you can say you are into “innovative networking.”
- When you’re late from walking miles to get somewhere, you can blame it on traffic.
- When you arrive somewhere sweaty from walking, biking, chasing the bus or from anxiety during your hitchhike you can say you “just got back from Runyon Canyon.”
- When you can only eat rice and beans, you’re “gluten free.” And dairy free. And soy free. And meat free. And nut free!
- When you eat other people’s food left on the table at a restaurant, you can call yourself an “adventurous foodie”.
- When you get caught eating out of a trashcan, you can say you’re putting together your audition tape for Top Chef.
- When you’re starving, you can call it “fasting.”
- When you become too hungry to respond emotionally to life, you can say you’re really into this new “natural botox.”
- When you write about how poor you are on social media as a cry for help, you can say your manager told you to strengthen your online presence.
Thank you to Christopher Schram and Shane Portman for their contributions.