ATLANTA H: 36°F L: 18°F
Special Weather Statement Until Midnight EST
Issued by National Weather Service, Atlanta, GA
AFFECTED COUNTIES Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, and Rockdale
A historic winter storm is gaining strength along the East Coast, dumping record-breaking snow accumulation from Jacksonville, FL, to the nation's capital, coupled with a threat of coastal flooding from Savannah, GA, to Wilmington, NC, and 70 mph offshore winds. The National Weather Service has reported that large swaths of the southern United States will see up to eight inches of snowfall, prompting emergency conditions across four states.
Heavy snow and high winds have created near-whiteout conditions. Authorities ask that everyone stay indoors and avoid all unnecessary travel. Icy patches likely on roads. All flights at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport have been grounded, and a winter storm warning is in effect from 3:00 p.m. through 12:00 a.m.
THERE ARE INFINITE ways that terrible night could’ve turned out differently.
Some quantum theorists believe there’s another you out there. Another me. That our universe is really, really big—infinitely large—and because of that, there are only so many ways matter can arrange and rearrange itself. Eventually, everything has to repeat, they say.
So there’s another version of this reality. A parallel one. Another me. Another you. Another version of the people we might love. Another outcome to every mistake we’ve made . . . living in another version of this universe as if we’re only a deck of cards shuffled and reshuffled, beholden to the numbers.
I should know. I understand the science. I have the highest GPA possible in my grade, shattering all the records at Marsha P. Johnson Magnet (or MPJM, as we call it). I could’ve tested out of high school in the ninth grade, but chose to stay for . . .
Whatever. Anyway, back to the point. There are infinite ways that terrible night could’ve turned out differently.
Imagine if I hadn’t gotten so wrapped up in my experiment that Sunday afternoon, and hadn’t left the lab late covered in calcium sulfate and stinking of acetic acid, my super-long locs needing a refresh and my hands tinged green from overflowing graduated cylinders.
Imagine if I actually had taken the time to look like a perfectly put-together girlfriend, someone worthy of being loved instead of an overly anxious mess. And if that anxiety didn’t push me to make the most catastrophic decision ever as I tried to get myself to relax. I can’t even face what I did.
Or even the night before it all happened: Imagine if I hadn’t wasted our Saturday presenting ~~my girlfriend, ex girlfriend, my~~ hopefully still girlfriend, Sola, with my charts, animated brain models, chemical equations, and study data for my AP Chemistry midterm project on love. The hypothesis posited that love was simply a biological response built into human brains to ensure the survival of the population . . . so is it even important?
Imagine if I hadn’t pontificated on my hypothesis, drilling down on how my results proved that love holds an overblown significance in our society and is most often wielded to make people believe that having a partner is some sort of accomplishment.
Being the smartest person in the world . . . now that’s a feat.
Curing cancer . . . ending pandemics . . . those are achievements.
Building libraries in communities that lack them . . . something to shout about.
Being in a relationship, though? There’s no need for a trophy or gold sticker . . . right?
Imagine if my whole experiment hadn’t invalidated our relationship.