Photo by Diana Vargas on Unsplash Few of my adult friends know that I used to be very religious. It’s not a secret, but how do you bring up sacred devotion in everyday conversation? As a teenager, I felt lonely and out of place. And yes, those feelings are hallmarks of teenage years. To be more specific, I felt small and insignificant. I kicked off freshman year contemplating a move to a boarding school in Virginia and an accelerated high school and university in North Texas. Although I decided to attend my public high school after all, the search for something larger than myself did not dissipate. I continued my musical pursuits by joining the marching band. However, the all-consuming intensity of marching band in Texas only demonstrated how much I didn’t belong in Texas. The sheer physicality and endurance required and the bombastic, appearance-obsessed nature of all activities linked to Texas football overwhelmed a shy-by-circumstance, overweight black girl in a predominantly white suburb.
#NaNonFicWriMo: Spirituality
#NaNonFicWriMo: Spirituality
#NaNonFicWriMo: Spirituality
Photo by Diana Vargas on Unsplash Few of my adult friends know that I used to be very religious. It’s not a secret, but how do you bring up sacred devotion in everyday conversation? As a teenager, I felt lonely and out of place. And yes, those feelings are hallmarks of teenage years. To be more specific, I felt small and insignificant. I kicked off freshman year contemplating a move to a boarding school in Virginia and an accelerated high school and university in North Texas. Although I decided to attend my public high school after all, the search for something larger than myself did not dissipate. I continued my musical pursuits by joining the marching band. However, the all-consuming intensity of marching band in Texas only demonstrated how much I didn’t belong in Texas. The sheer physicality and endurance required and the bombastic, appearance-obsessed nature of all activities linked to Texas football overwhelmed a shy-by-circumstance, overweight black girl in a predominantly white suburb.