In the middle of Maryland, there is an old townhouse, that was my first home. It was where the earliest of my memories originate. From being scared of the neighbor that smoked, to playing with a brand-new Bob the Builder Play-doh set or using cookie cutters.
My brother was born and taken back to that house. I played with the keyboard and made stories to go with the music it made and danced with my teddy bear. My dad and I played Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2 in the basement; he'd do the boss battles and I'd run through the stages, but neither of us could beat the second stage in the Chemical Plant Zone. In that basement I'd jump on the trampoline while my mom did the laundry, and I'd ask my mom how to spell "Sonic" because I knew my letters but not how to spell, and was so proud when I finished it and could read it back to her. I am from love.
I paraded on the floor just above to music, and would pretend to be like the kids on Cyberchase. I'd put Veggietales masks on my infant of a brother and run away laughing, and when he went to bed I'd walk around the house with my mom and dad behind me and we'd make a train and sometimes yell "Shake your caboose!" and then do as much. I went to preschool from that house, and danced to songs, and made adults make funny faces when I cooked food for them with oil in it. I would do my first science experiment which ended with me landing flat on my butt and require me to be carried to my mom. I am from learning and imagination.
When I was 4 we moved to a bigger house with a backyard. We played croquet and basketball and make-believe. Inside I practiced piano and did my homework and annoyed my brother as much as I could. I read and learned and by the first grade I was writing like a fiend. I recorded my dreams and wrote letters to friends and read and drew and learned. I would go to church and have fun with friends and be forgiven by God. I would be bullied and know what betrayal felt like before I even finished elementary school. I would have anorexia and depression and suicidal thoughts all before I even hit puberty. I am from broken pieces that have been stitched back together.
I'm from a middle school where my nicknames were a joke, where people stole my belongings and laughed when I was assigned to a team that wasn't there's. I would pop my knee out of place and then have it be hit again and again. If you had a dollar you could pay someone to be nice to me, and if you didn't you could dare them to ask me on a date. I was framed a lesbian because I didn't want to date, and would cry myself to sleep at night. But I would be going to a different high school than the others, one that would accept me for who I was. I am from hope.
I published my first book at 16. I suffered from agoraphobia and still suffer from anxiety attacks. I wouldn't freak out about my GPA like others did but still get invited to scholar's societies, I struggled with severe depression and stronger suicidal feelings than ever before. I learned about asexuality and was so happy about it, because I wasn't broken, just different. I deepened my faith in the Lord and got answers to questions I had for years. I am from pressure.663Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl7DkSq7osE
I am from love, and hate, and jealousy, and pain, and beauty, and possibly most of all pressure in one form or another. But pressure is always needed to turn coal into a diamond.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
