“Heartburn”
March 11th, 2026
Writer: Lainey Morello
When I Google the term “heartburn”, I am met with descriptions of the painful and acidic digestive process, courtesy of Mayo Clinic, Penn Medicine, and Cleveland Clinic, to name a few. In a nutshell, heartburn is experienced as a burning sensation, rising from the stomach into the chest and felt in the throat when stomach acid flows reversely through the esophagus, disrupting what should be a painless digestive process. But if we're getting methodical, heartburn doesn't occur in the chest or the heart directly. It occurs in the esophagus, the long tube through which food is swallowed, which happens to run right alongside the heart. The heart stays untouched. Thus, I find this term misleading.
More often than I find myself struggling to digest food without pain, I find myself focusing on the burning anticipation in my heart. I have waited patiently for my turn to love with all I have, but I'm not sure how much longer I can wait; my heart might soon burst into flames. This is a phenomenon I have identified as actual “heartburn”.
With each infatuating connection I bet upon, I am later met with the ghost of what could have been. Yet my anticipation only grows. My ability to love only multiplies. But I can only let go of so many hands before the burn intensifies, before my heart breaks itself. And still, I wait. I have no choice but to accept the pain in my heart because, deep down, I know I haven't yet found the person who deserves all the love I have to give.
All this to say, I am no perfect example of patience. I am only an amateur when it comes to containing my love. Waiting for the right moment is something I have not yet mastered. Each connection I foster is accompanied by the hope that I have finally found that deserving person. The anticipation masks itself as excitement, and the love from my heart makes its way into my actions, displaying itself on my sleeve. I will give my all to someone new, even with the inkling that something is not quite right. I give myself the benefit of the doubt, only to be proven wrong by that gut feeling. You know, the one that supersedes reality? It’s telling me, warning me even, to wait just a little bit longer.
But I never listen; my heart burns to reignite a flame that once had so much potential.
While my heart endures the pain and asks, “Why?”, my brain knows the answer. I have come to learn that nothing lasts forever. And I mean that with the utmost optimism. My heart has not yet accepted this reality, but it knows that change is inevitable: if all things lasted forever, their downfalls would eventually fester into something that poisons the trajectory of my life, along with my ability to love and connect with others.
I must find comfort in knowing that soon, my time will come. Eventually, the heartburn will subside as I meet the only person who can save my heart from the flames. Until then, I will endure the burn of hoping, trusting that one day the flames will no longer act as a warning, but a display of my passion.
