“We were the people who were not in the papers. We lived in the blank white spaces at the edges of print. It gave us more freedom. We lived in the gaps between the stories.”
―Margaret Atwood
How have you found freedom in being unnoticed?
One thought on “In the Gaps”
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I came from a small town where everyone knew everyone, and everyone gossiped about everyone. Even worse, I was related to much of the town because it was so small and my extended family was so large. Even having a crush could be fraught, because my parents sometimes informed me that my crush was a second cousin. (Socially frowned upon where I’m from.)
I was bullied for being a weird kid, and I was desperate to get out. I moved away from home after college, to a small city in another county, not the big city of my dreams, and no one knew me there, so I grew as a person instead of staying in the role of weirdo/court jester I played for years. I spent my childhood in one town, but I really grew up in this little city. I’m still weird, but on my own terms. But when I get back with people I grew up with, I often fall back into my old role.