When you force yourself

to stay awake

until 3 a.m.

in order to finish

an essay about pineapples

for Creative Nonfiction Workshop

but actually end up watching

Lifetime Christmas movies

because writer’s block

& the struggle is real,

just buy some shoes

& forget about it.

When you’re walking

to class with a fresh cup

of steaming hot coffee

mixed with sugar-free caramel vanilla creamer

& the lid unexpectedly pops off

& scorches your hands

& makes a big hot mess out of you & the lobby

turn around

go back home

brew a new cup of coffee

& buy a killer set of red stilettos.

When you wake up one day

& all of a sudden so-and-so

doesn’t love you anymore,

go back to bed,

blast Justin Bieber's new album

& buy a new pair of teal oxfords.

When the semester is ending

& grades are crashing

& Paris is being bombed

& ISIS has everyone scared to leave the house

& there’s no bananas left in the produce aisle

& all the washing machines are busy

& Netflix won’t stop buffering

& you miss your puppy

& your friend has been diagnosed with cancer

& you answer with the wrong conjugation of viajar en la clase de Espanol,

just click proceed to checkout

confirm your order

& anticipate the arrival

of the seven different variations

of lace-up boots.