Loneliness, Tribe, and the Beauty/Pain of Not Belonging
One day in 4th grade two girls told the entire class to ignore me and pretend I didn't exist. I remembering wandering from person to person at lunch and on the playground looking for someone to talk to without any response. I felt like a ghost who didn’t exist, let alone belong. Up until then I began to think not belonging was all in my head, but then the reality of being completely excluded couldn't be ignored. I will never forget that day as long as I live as it exemplified