There was this little girl and she was happy like most children are but she was also a little different. She couldn't run or jump or skip like all the other little girls. She found out why one day, she was different because of a genetic disorder. She was too young to really understand but still the little girl smiled and had friends.
As she grew, the difference became more noticeable but still the girl didn't worry too much.She didn't care when someone told her she ran like a horse. She just smiled and played Saddle Club with her friends. As nature happens, the girl changed friends. People change, they grew apart but she had one friend; a great friend that pretended that she was like her so she didn't feel so alone. The girl knew that her friend was pretending but it didn't bother her, instead she was happy, happy that someone didn't want her to feel so alone; so different.
As time went on, the girl moved. Leaving behind her greatest friend. Thins changed in this new place, people weren't as kind. They looked down at her. Laughed at her at times. She found friends but she never felt the closeness she had felt with her best friend.
In year five, the girl had trouble. A group of boys made a club that was about making fun of her. It was hard on the girl and no-one really understood. She couldn't make them understand. Her parents gave her a letter to explain to the class about why she was different but the girl never did it. Why? She was afraid and she didn't think that they would understand. She lied and said she did it.
After awhile, the boys came to their senses and stopped. They apologised and became friends with the girl. Not close friends but still friends.
Year 6, the girl's father walked out without a single word. She cried but only for a little bit. She wrote a poem about it.
High school was a mixture of good and bad for the girl, but year 7 was a lot of bad. The girl was made fun of for her glasses, they way she looked. Anything that one girl could find to make fun of, she did. This one girl, 'R' decided that for whatever reason she would make the girl's life hell. 'R' was relentless.
Things went up and down after year 7. Somewhere along the way between year 5 and year 7, the girl stopped smiling as much and started trusting people less. Sarcasm became part of her everyday interactions, she stood up for herself more and even stood up for her friends. People still made fun of her but they didn't mess with her too much when they found out, when they saw the girl wasn't so easy to break anymore.
Her first boyfriend wan't really much of a boyfriend; they never went out and they never kissed. But she loved him or at least, that's what she had told herself. He ended it with a text. he has cared, she knew that much, just not enough.
After high school was tough for the girl. Moving away from her mother to live with her father. Disappointment after disappointment on the job front. Making her contribution to the household by cleaning and doing some cooking. But nothing was ever good enough for the father's girlfriend. the girlfriend would always find fault. Downward spiral, secret drinking and depression.
Then a light in the dark, the girl's godmother offered her an out and the girl took it. She moved again and freedom; sweet freedom was hers.
Course after course in TAFE so the girl could get to university and follow her dream.
The girl smiles more now. She's happy sometimes. She laughs, she makes jokes. She still uses sarcasm but no so much. she still stands up for herself and what she believes in. She doesn't keep everything inside so much anymore.
Except for one thing, the girl isn't a girl anymore. She's an adult now.
Aura Wintergreen Community Member 
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