The Sun Shines Brightest in June (Completed) gxg

Wednesday, July 16, 2003

Originally, I had never planned to tell anyone about my abnormality. Not my teachers, not my parents, not even my friends. Nobody needed to know that I was falling behind in the race of life. Was it even a race? Maybe that's not the right thing to say. Maybe life isn't about a competition of who can hit milestone life events the fastest. After all, the older people get, the more it seems like they don't want to win anymore. Four years prior, when my mother had turned thirty, she didn't seem all too thrilled about that milestone.

That's not the point, though. The point is that I told Klara. Even though I had promised myself nobody needed to know, the secret was eating away at me. I desperately wanted to let it out, hoping that someone could comfort me into believing I wasn't failing as an eleven year old girl.

We sat in the shade of the woods across the field, this time having let our families know where we would be. I leaned back against a tall tree, stretching my feet out before me.

"There isn't some test you have to take that determines whether or not you're fit to be the age you are, Sadie."

Klara sat leaning against the same tree. We couldn't actually look at each other when we talked, but that was okay. We weren't alone and we knew that.

"I know," I said. "I'm just worried people will make fun of me or something."

She sighed deeply.

"Would it really matter so much if they did?"

I gave her a curious look.

"Well... wouldn't you care if someone was teasing you?"

There was a long pause.

"Not really," she finally answered. "The thing about teasing is, it only bothers you if you let it. People make fun of others for multiple reasons. Maybe they're just mean people, or maybe they're jealous. Maybe they're even trying to take you down, because they feel down themselves. Some people believe that making others feel bad will somehow make them feel better. Whatever the reason, though, you don't have to listen. Nobody should be able to tell you what's normal for you and what's not. Nobody should be able to make you feel bad about yourself."

"Sometimes it's hard."

"I know it's hard," she said, taking hold of my hand, "but everyone on this planet is unique. No two people are the same. What's normal for someone else may not be for you, and that's perfectly okay. You just need to hold your head up high and keep reminding yourself that nobody else's opinion matters. What they say about you isn't true. The only opinion you need to worry about is your own. If you believe that you are normal then you are. Don't let other people change that."

I sat in silence for more time than I could keep track of, letting her words sink it. She was right. She was absolutely right.

"You know, you're pretty wise for a thirteen your old," I told her. "Where did you learn this stuff?"

She shrugged.

"From my mother, I suppose."