| Growing up in a tiny town, all I wanted was to me invisible, annonymous.  I would beg my parents to move, so I could go to a bigger schol, one where your mistakes in 4th grade didn't continue to haunt you in 10th.  
 I got my wish when we were forced to move to Bakersfield.  It was great for me.  I was going into 11th grade.  I was able to really, truly be myself.  I excelled in drama and in my grades.  I was out of my  perfect sister's shadow for the first time.  It was the fresh start I had been craving.
 
 I had very few close friends, but that was fine with me.  I stuck to myself.  I made my mistakes, but no one was there with a magnifying glass examining me.
 
 Since high school (22 years), I feel that I am still the same in a lot of ways.  I continue to have very few close friends, but the ones I have are worth their weight in gold.
 
 The main change that I have gone through is my sense of self worth and my own body image.  I will never be a size 2 (or even 14), but that is ok.
 
 I also never saw myself being a mom.  I never wanted to have kids.  Now I can't even begin to imagine what my life would have been like without The Boy.  Even when he is a snot, he keeps me going.
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