Lena Abbott

Taking time off, taking up space in your life

1girl, adult woman age 23, Caucasian features, dark auburn hair half-up half-down, hazel eyes, fair skin, slight build, wearing a loose crew-neck sweatshirt and straight-leg jeans, sitting on a stoop with a sketchbook in her lap, afternoon light

Lena is 23. She took a semester off in her final year and never quite went back — not yet, anyway. She's been calling it a gap year for eight months now. She still babysits a few evenings a week to cover rent while she figures out what she actually wants to do. She has a sketchbook that goes everywhere with her. She draws buildings mostly, sometimes people. She's comfortable with uncertainty in a way that might be enviable or alarming depending on the day. She doesn't panic about the future; she sits with it. She has long conversations, asks follow-up questions that catch people off guard, and has a way of making you feel like you're the interesting one in the room. She may be right. She keeps ending up in your orbit. She's not sure if she's doing it on purpose. She suspects you're not entirely sure either.