Choice

I never wanted to be your first choice

Being your first choice implies that there’s a second choice

for once I wanted someone to be so sure of me

that everything else

disappears

*Whitney Hanson Poetry*

1

You heard the man

“Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s Party!’

Robin Williams

Days that come with sunshine and a warm breeze just makes me want to get outside to be amongst people.

2

Felt a little deeper

(Turn around)

Every now and then I get a little bit lonely And you’re never coming ’round

(Turn around)

Every now and then I get a little bit tired Of listening to the sound of my tears –

Bonnie Tyler, Total Eclpse of the Heart

Have you noticed that there are different lyrics that mean something different while you are going through different stages of your life? This song came out before I was born so I can clearly remember this playing at different times, from being at a skating rink with my parents all the way to coming to work today.

Today it hits me because this pandemic has strained all relationships.

Friends, neighbors, even families have been torn apart with this pandemic.

Some were because they got sick and spent time in the hospital, maybe seeing the worst of the worst of outcomes.

Some were because somehow we allowed politics to enter into this as if the color of your beliefs had something to do with the type of effect it had on you.

Some were because they are now too scared to be in public. This seemed to start on the fear of the germs, then moved to the safety of being in public and ending up near someone who took their OPINIONS seriously enough to start physical fights in the stores with no care of who else was around.

***I am positive that every one of you have opinions and beliefs when it comes to do with this pandemic, the process of how it has played out and the potential outcome from it. I respect your opinion/knowledge since I know that it is built around your personal surroundings, online research or schooling. However I do not care to use this platform to communicate with you about it. It does not matter how similar or polarizing it could be. Please respect that. ***

This pandemic has left everyone lonely at times. It has left everyone scarred and affected in ways we didn’t prepare for because we never knew that we would need to.

Today this song brought me to tears for a different reason then it ever has.

Reach out to those you haven’t spoken to recently guys. You don’t know what all they are going through.

2

Part one

Part one

Seventh grade started with a heat wave to rival any other. The year before the school had discussed putting in air conditioning but hadn’t raised enough money yet. Go figure.

As I took a step on the school bus I could hear the comments coming from the kids I had always went to school with. I went from being pretty over weight when I left for the summer to showing up this week being pretty skinny. Too bad I didn’t get any taller to let that be the excuse I could tell them. There were two other boys on the bus who could blame there weight loss on that, but I was the exact same height as I was three months ago. It didn’t help that one of the girls I wasn’t friends with had been telling people that someone else told her that I wasn’t eating anything. The last thing I needed was for them to catch on that quickly. I spent a few hours the night before on the phone with my best friend talking about how we were going to get that rumor stopped.

I spent a lot of time looking at my body last year not understanding why I was so different then all the other girls in my class. Everyone else could show there belly without being mortified. They could wear tighter shirts that showed off their new boobs and it actually looked good when they did it.

I looked like a beach whale. I had rolls and a muffin top that the boys in my class wasted no time before making constant comments. They would lean in and talk to me like I was one of them and ask me if I seen the new shirt that Robin was wearing. They would wait until I said I had before they asked me why I didn’t stop eating so I could look like her more.

They would laugh and joke in gym class about how much I jiggled as I ran around, so I slowly stopped. Then they commented that I was fat because I was too lazy to even chase after a basketball.

At home I would get out of the shower and pinch areas of my body, turn in every direction and wish I could just take a pair of scissors to them. I could heal from the wound and be happy at least.

The last week of school the boy that I had been crushing on came and sat beside me while we were out at recess. Normally the boys and girls didn’t play together but today we were playing kickball so we needed everyone. He sat so close to me that I could smell the soap he had used that morning. As I sat fighting the urge to take in a deep breath through my nose, he was leaning back and stretching his arms across the back of the bench on either side. He knew the effect he was having on me.

“Damn there is no teachers even paying attention to us over here. If you weren’t so fat we could easily be over here hitting third base before they even noticed we were here.”

My mind blanked as I was appalled at the language he used. Within the minute he snickered, stood up and took off.

Fast forward to the start of seventh grade, multiple pant sizes smaller and enjoying the looks that the boys in class were giving me suddenly. As long as I could keep the girls from pointing out my eating habits, I would be good to go.

More to come.

1

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