Juvenile

I wake up feeling angry, pillows and blankets on the floor, even my dog is keeping his distance. Watching me from across the room, wagging his tail, just a little. Come lunchtime I’m back in the boys’ bathroom with my toothbrush, flushing the toilet to cover up the ugly sounds of vomiting. I realize that I’ve been holding my breath all morning, everything tight and rigid, my chest ready to explode. My friends don‘t ask, but I tell them anyway, I was coughing so much it made me sick, is all. I’m smiling now. Everything is fine. I’m not running away from my problems, I’m simply getting rid of them.

You’re being mean, she says. You’re selfish! Stop acting so goddamn juvenile. I want to scream in her face, call her every bad name I can think of. I want to tell her that it’s normal to fight, other kids fight with their parents all the time, what makes us any different? We never make up, we never say sorry, our words are left hanging in the air. I want to grab her arms and wrap them around me, but I stay where I am while she’s hiding in the kitchen, crying quietly. I pick fights because I want to know if you really love me, it’s my way of testing you. I’m too afraid to ask, too much of a coward. What if the answer is no?

Shedding Skin

Dance is like shedding skin. I am slowly getting to know myself, really becoming aware of my body for the first time. I enjoy pushing myself, I enjoy the repetitiveness, I even enjoy the pain that follows practice. I feel safe, I feel at home, I feel happy. I remember watching dancers on TV when I was younger, admiring their strength, their stamina, their sensuality. Wishing, wanting it so desperately, but too afraid to ask. It was out of the question, my parents would never pay for lessons. Boys don’t dance and the ones who do…well they’re different in the worst possible way. Girly, effeminate, soft, fruity, flaming, faggy, gay. Boys shouldn’t appreciate beauty, it’s better, so much safer to worship mud and dirt, to graze your elbows and knees, to only use your body for running and climbing. Bold, brash and confident. Don’t think before you act, just do it. Being a boy should be automatic like breathing, but I had to think about it. I had to create this other persona, this façade to hide behind. Neutral, somewhere safe in the middle. A little too nice, a little too quiet, but never obvious. If you can’t be aggressive, and God knows I tried, the second best thing is to become invisible, to cease being a person. And then you can start erasing your body. You’ll take up even less space. You’re no fun to mess with because you’re too weak to fight back. The only person who won’t leave you alone is dad, but he can’t hurt you any more because you’ve stopped feeling. You don’t feel sad, you don’t feel happy, you’re not even in the room while it’s happening. And then one day it stops. You’re safe, that’s what they keep telling you, over and over. You have to re-learn everything, replace your fucked-up dictionary, become a boy, a person again. But I am out of control, suddenly aggressive, so confused, who am I really? Am I turning into him? Everything is turmoil, pitch-black angry chaos. Acting out, they call it. Like a pat on the head. This is normal, this is recovery. A return to normalcy, yet I feel anything but normal. I’m fighting myself, fighting my body, I want out. Why is every attempt unsuccessful, what am I doing wrong? Do I want to live after all? I’m not used to feeling, now I’m feeling too much, I’m overwhelmed, please make it stop. There’s no progress, nothing visible to the eye, nothing tangible, I’m not getting well fast enough. I read somewhere that the mind chooses to forget, but the body always remembers. It’s a painful reminder. How can I learn to like myself, to accept my body and its history, the fact that I’m turning into a man? Can I get to know him, little by little? Can I write it out, can I talk about it? Is it safe to explore, to come out of hiding, can I dance now?

I don't think anyone can illustrate dance like Jakob Karr.

Almost

When I’m in a good place mentally the need to write is less. For some reason I’ve never been able to express happiness and contentment in words. Somehow “feeling fine” isn’t important enough to write about. I have to convince myself that it’s perfectly okay to be happy, to smile, to feel good both inside and out. Every day I sign my own permission slip, I give myself permission to like what I see in the mirror, to derive pleasure from my body, to accept a compliment, to feel strong and proud. Perhaps I’m scared that writing about it will somehow jinx it. Happiness is only temporary, if I get too cocky, too proud, then something bad is bound to happen. It’s like counting the prize money before you’ve crossed the finish line. Just because I’m healthy doesn’t mean I’m cured. I am a recovering anorexic, a recovering addict. Almost normal. Almost, nearly, not quite there yet. The desire, the want to change is so strong, but I’ve fought this internal battle for so long that it’s almost impossible to imagine life without it.

Books I Have Loved

Books help us grow. They teach us invaluable life lessons, offer comfort and joy, a place to hide and heal for those who need it. Books make us think and feel, and sometimes even question our own beliefs. Books don’t necessarily offer instant gratification, like so many young people are used to these days. Reading takes time, but a good book has the power to make hours and days disappear. A book is like a movie that’s only showing in your head, it feeds our imagination, helps us see things in a new light. Reading is magical.

Books I have loved.

Andrew Smith - Ghost Medicine

Adam Rapp - 33 Snow fish

S.E. Hinton - Rumble Fish

Andreas Steinhofel - The Center of the World

J.D. Salinger - The Catcher in the Rye

Aidan Chambers - Postcards From No Man’s Land

Sonya Hartnett - Surrender

Suzanne Kingsbury - The Summer Fletcher Greel Loved Me

James Howe - The Watcher

Celia Rees - The Wish House

The Opposite of Running

I’ve been obsessed with safety, the idea of being and feeling safe all my life. Safety is the very opposite of being afraid, it’s the opposite of running. Feeling safe at home, at school, but most importantly in my own skin. I imagine it’s like breathing very slowly, calm like the dark silky surface of a garden pond. Not a single ripple, not a sound. But my stomach is always in knots, my breathing rapid. There is always hesitation, a slight tremor in my voice, like it’s about to break but never does. He’s shy, she says and they nod and smile. Being shy can be cute when you’re a kid. Everyone likes a polite young man. You’ve raised him well, he’s come a long way. But I’m keys jangling on a key chain, I’m coins rattling in someone’s pocket. I sleep with my fists and jaws clenched tight. I feel vulnerable, I feel like prey. I still act like a victim, I never liked the term survivor anyway. To be a survivor means to have survived, to have risen above it all, to forgive and forget. To move on. But what if I can’t?