wowowoowow that was amazing Christina. I feel like we would have been friends at some point along the way if we had gone to the same schools. Finding community in the caves also really stuck out for me. Also laughed so hard at the gay kids who swear they aren't gay, so true. I'm so glad you shared this
…what an awesome slice of life coupled with some profound positivity…fellow early fat kid here waving hand and i can’t even look back at my kid pics without full scooping the self embarrassment of just being that kid back into my mouth…it is amazing what kind of confidence we can build in eachother by just providing support for their/them/ourselves…rad read…
Your article came across as quite light and anecdotal until the last paragraph when you teased some very profound insights out of your early life experience. Having such a strong takeaway at the end of engaging storytelling is a great recipe for building an engaged audience and devoted readership over time. "Learning how to manipulate people when I was young gave me a killer advantage, but it’s intention that transforms a villain into a hero." !! : )
Christina, your story resonated with me on so many levels. The way you describe the social hierarchy of your childhood, the "predators and prey," is so vivid. It's heartbreaking to hear about the lengths you went to for acceptance, but it's also inspiring to see how you've channeled those experiences into empathy and strength. Your story reminds us that even the most painful experiences can shape us into more compassionate and understanding individuals.
I came across this in my feed, and I love it and the synchronicity! I just posted a note here on Substack the other day about how I'll never be "cool" (or at least not the kind of cool that the kids were referring to back then), and I've been thinking a lot about how this childhood version of myself informs who I am today.
wowowoowow that was amazing Christina. I feel like we would have been friends at some point along the way if we had gone to the same schools. Finding community in the caves also really stuck out for me. Also laughed so hard at the gay kids who swear they aren't gay, so true. I'm so glad you shared this
…what an awesome slice of life coupled with some profound positivity…fellow early fat kid here waving hand and i can’t even look back at my kid pics without full scooping the self embarrassment of just being that kid back into my mouth…it is amazing what kind of confidence we can build in eachother by just providing support for their/them/ourselves…rad read…
Love where this ended up.....so nice to read this!
Your article came across as quite light and anecdotal until the last paragraph when you teased some very profound insights out of your early life experience. Having such a strong takeaway at the end of engaging storytelling is a great recipe for building an engaged audience and devoted readership over time. "Learning how to manipulate people when I was young gave me a killer advantage, but it’s intention that transforms a villain into a hero." !! : )
Christina, your story resonated with me on so many levels. The way you describe the social hierarchy of your childhood, the "predators and prey," is so vivid. It's heartbreaking to hear about the lengths you went to for acceptance, but it's also inspiring to see how you've channeled those experiences into empathy and strength. Your story reminds us that even the most painful experiences can shape us into more compassionate and understanding individuals.
I came across this in my feed, and I love it and the synchronicity! I just posted a note here on Substack the other day about how I'll never be "cool" (or at least not the kind of cool that the kids were referring to back then), and I've been thinking a lot about how this childhood version of myself informs who I am today.