Why I say “you pick” when someone asks what I want

Syel · 14 October 2026

It's half past seven, someone asks what you feel like eating, and you hear yourself say “I don't mind, you pick” before you've even looked.

It isn't quite true, though. When the other person says “sushi?”, something in your stomach goes “meh.” You say “sure, perfect,” and it passes.

I find it touching, this wish for the evening to be easy for everyone.

Underneath, there's often a reflex: reading the other person's face before looking inside yourself. What you want comes second, or doesn't come.

One dinner, one film, costs almost nothing. But it adds up to evenings chosen by other people, where you say “it was nice.” And the day someone really asks, you search, and your answer doesn't come right away.