[alphabassettgrrl]

Things that come to mind that have changed:

I learned during high school to tell the larger community to go fly a kite. I'm still working on remembering that; some days it's easier than others.
I don't try to fit into groups. I find groups that fit me now. Or more commonly, individual people who fit me. In school I tried (initially) to look like the cool girls, to be like them, tried to be accepted. I learned they weren't going to accept me, and I found I really didn't care. Their lifestyle was rather boring.

I didn't go to parties in high school. Not commonly, anyway, and certainly nothing with alcohol or drugs. I only remember once my friends and I showed up at a party, and there was booze; we turned around and walked out. Part of that was fear of my mother, and part of it was that I really wasn't interested in getting wasted. I did a lot of partying in college, but some of that was escapism, and some of it was wanting to be liked, and some of it was exploring something I hadn't had a chance to do before.

I thought there was something wrong with me in school because I wasn't boy-crazy. Now I know- I should have dated girls. Instead, I dated boys that looked like girls or were otherwise "safe". The longest-running one was with a boy who lived 30 miles away (was a big deal at that point) and was available if I needed a date for something but was otherwise safely out of the way.

I did develop my own sense of style, which was sometimes off-kilter. I'd wear a dress and heels for no reason. I wore an outfit inspired by Doctor Who #5. I was usually put-together, no rips in my clothes, things matched. I frequently wore pink and pastels because I was told that is what looks good on blondes. I don't like pastels. I hate pink. Now mostly I wear t-shirts and jeans; I'm working on doing better than that.

Possibly more to come.