Why-oming This is Why-oming, a column by Jenny Tinghui Zhang that explores life as a woman of color in Wyoming, one of the whitest and loneliest places in the United States.

I Went to Wyoming to Get My MFA and It Gave My Life Back to Me

When I came to Laramie, I found the person I wanted to be. When I left, I took her with me.

A New Definition of the Term “Cowboy” Can’t Change Its Legacy

There are cowboys out there who echo the conquering-the-west narrative, one of entitlement and legacy and what he is owed.

How My Korean Skincare Routine Protects Me in Wintery, White Wyoming

I take off the effects of the day, the echoes of wind, sleet, and snow. I pamper my skin, urge it to replenish and heal. I am asking myself to brave another day.

Remembering Matthew Shepard’s Legacy in His Own Backyard

In this small town of Laramie, what you say matters. It gets around. The only way to combat the misinformation is to keep telling the truth.

Facing Loneliness in a Wyoming Ghost Town

The little prince asks the snake, “Where are the people? It’s a little lonely in the desert.” To which the snake responds, “It is lonely when you’re among people, too.”

Alone in Wyoming, I Found My Place Through Karaoke

As a woman of color moving to Laramie, Wyoming, I was afraid that I wouldn’t fit in, that I would be unsafe. But at karaoke night at The Ruffed Up Duck, I found my place among the the defiant.

In the Harsh Climate of Wyoming, I Learned to Listen to My Body

My eating disorder dictated my relationship to food. Then I moved to Wyoming, whose unforgiving landscape reminded me: We eat food to survive.