Catapult | Catapult

Cover Photo: An illustration of a figure on a terrace, looking out on a red lake

anak ko

past mahal / dressed in the garments / of two pronouns.

Louie Leyson

Jul 08, 2022

Catapult | Poetry

Cover Photo: A collage of Nigerian vegetarian dishes

Giving Up Meat Made Me Love Cooking Nigerian Food Again

Cooking without meat has forced me to be creative in the kitchen and expanded the confines of my world.

Tomi Obaro

Jul 06, 2022

Catapult | I Give Up

Cover Photo: An image of an Absolut Vodka bottle in ice

Getting Sober Again

My two years of sobriety were gone in less than the length of a song.

Natalie Lima

Jun 09, 2022

Catapult | I Give Up

Cover Photo: A black and white photo of a filing cabinet. One drawer is open and the files and records inside appear in color.

Learning to Delete the Old Versions of My Digital Self

For a long time, I believed you had to keep these records. I knew so little about who I was and what I wanted.

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya

Jun 09, 2022

Catapult | I Give Up

Cover Photo: A black and white photo of ballet dancers on a stage. In the center are a male and female dancer together. The male dancer's body is in color.

My Dream Career Was Just Beginning When I Let It Go

Just as I was reaching the peak of my abilities—and as the pandemic began—I left professional ballet behind, before ever giving my dreams a proper try.

Jared Klegar

Jun 08, 2022

Catapult | I Give Up

Cover Photo: A black-and-white photograph of an office calendar laid open on a desk. A pair of hands is holding down a pink post-it note and preparing to write on it with a black pencil. The pink post-it note and the red fingernail polish on the hands are the only parts of the photo in color.

When Quitting Your Job Is the Answer to Everything

The email some anonymous stranger had sent to my boss was an agonizing reminder of how I lived, the choices I made, and the priorities I held close.

Rax King

Jun 08, 2022

Catapult | I Give Up

Cover Photo: This black and white photograph is of a hand holding a phone and only the phone is in color.

I’m Done Listening to My Family About How to Be a “Good” Mother

Their judgment is clear every time, and my aunt is the only one who is bold enough to say it with her chest: I am a bad mom.

Ukamaka Olisakwe

Jun 07, 2022

Catapult | I Give Up

Cover Photo: A black-and-white photo of a chain of paper people with linked hands. One of the bodies is a pale peach color; the rest are in greyscale.

Why I’m No Longer Defending Whiteness

The past two years have solidified my view that America may never change enough for me.

Taylor Harris

Jun 07, 2022

Catapult | I Give Up

Cover Photo: A photograph of five pairs of blue jeans hung from a drying line outside a window. The wall the jeans hang against is in black and white and the jeans appear in vivid blue.

I Gave Up Pants—But Femininity Is Just As Binding

I stopped wearing pants in the name of physical comfort, with the emotionally uncomfortable result that I now present as a woman who wears dresses all the time.

Jess Zimmerman

Jun 06, 2022

Catapult | I Give Up

Cover Photo: This photograph shows a black pen lying next to a A+ grade marked on a paper, which is in red.

Letting Go of My Toxic Ambition

I was agitated by the sensation that saying yes to everything and no to nothing, rising to the occasion, going above and beyond, was supposed to be the worthiest thing about me.

Rainesford Stauffer

Jun 06, 2022

Catapult | I Give Up

Cover Photo: This illustration shows an apartment complex detailed like you are looking at the backside of a dollhouse and cut out of black paper. We see various scenes going on in different rooms, but in particular one apartment shows people having sex, while the apartment below it is being banged and rattled around

Intellectual Property as a Result

recently I signed a contract / which stipulates anything / I conceive of as a result / of the job belongs to the job

T. Liem

Mar 29, 2022

Catapult | Poetry

Cover Photo: This photograph is a close up image of a shiny, orange clam, it's hinges open to the delicate sunshine that reflects off its shell and the wet sand beneath it.

Laying Down the Groundwork

When I got up before anyone else / I took the heavy clams from the fridge / and put them in a bowl of cool water.

Hedgie Choi

Feb 25, 2022

Catapult | Poetry

Cover Photo: This illustration shows two brown hands holding a collection of green gems--some are cut to look as if they are sparkling, others show old Spanish newspaper clippings. In the facets of one gem, we seem men holding up guns and pointing them toward the sky.

Pepe

when his niece asks / tell me about Chía, the answer is always just: it’s a long story / but I think what you’re telling me, is that language is an inadequate grieving