My New Life-Changing Word for this Year

I spent most of my life feeling like an alien. Something always seemed to set me apart from other people. While other kids could mind meld with one another on the playground, I crawled into the nearby tractor tires that served as kid-sized caves for anyone who hated kickball. I’d curl up in there and stare at the black interiors, and let myself daydream. After what felt like seconds, the bell would ring and I’d snap out of my reverie to run back to class, hoping it was library day so I could spend a long hour reading. Never in my wildest dreams did I think of this as a sign of anything other than my personality. Sure, I wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but so what? Yes, I cried if a teacher sighed at my bizarre questions. And sure, I tried way too hard to make the other girls like me only to get notes informing me, “We are not friends anymore,” folded up in tight, angry triangles. But that was life, right? <a href="https://medium.com/alls-well/my-new-life-changing-word-for-this-year-faad60f1676c">Read More</a>