That day and in months that followed, we ended up having the best conversations about what writing meant to us, and what it meant to others.
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My leaving Medium some years later was tough and awkward, and left a hole in my heart. That part wasn’t unique; Medium is a rather cruel company, and cruel in a few insidious ways.
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With other people in the same situation, I dealt with it through sarcasm and bitterness. But Tess approached it differently. Once in a while, she would just send me a quick note saying something along the lines of “we miss you here.” Those often put tears in my eyes.
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We promised ourselves not to be “email friends,” and after we both moved on in our careers, we would still go on joint walks and talk about our lifes, and careers, and writing, and – chiefly – the wonders of Amsterdam’s Vondelpark.
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(Some of these conversations I remember being rather hard, but none were ever unwelcome.)
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I loved Tess’s warmth and thoughtfulness, and the sort of world apprehension that I myself aspire to – the keen understanding of things without the dangers of naïveté, but also without giving up on empathy, or trust, or hope.
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Tess liked Dutch culture, and the one word that I immediately remember when thinking of her is the barely-translatable “gezellig” – the kind of hard-earned coziness, quaintness, human connection, and friendliness that happens only in the best of homes.
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Tess, every interaction I had with you was gezellig. I’ll miss you so much.pic.twitter.com/dF6XPGT9ST
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Very sorry to hear about her death.
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Thank you. :·(
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