When did I realize it? Good question. I can’t really put my finger on it, but I think that when I was little, things were still okay. I won’t lie and tell you I was some girl wonder, but not everyone has to be Einstein. But it’s true I didn’t really have friends. I mean, if kids talked to me, I’d answer, obviously. But if they didn’t, I’d keep quiet. The problem is that things kind of got stuck at that point. You see, people think that all you need in order to exist in this world is to breathe, but it’s a lot more complicated than that, just so you know. ’Cause you also need to brush your teeth, and eat, and take a shower every now and then. So many tasks, how are you supposed to remember them all? I think it was in eighth grade that my name somehow got left off the list. Who knows, maybe it was seventh grade. I guess some secretary made a mistake. I don’t really know how it happened, but one day the math teacher took attendance, and never called my name. I was going to say something after a few days, but the kids in my class convinced me not to. They said that way I could skip classes whenever I wanted, and I thought to myself that I shouldn’t ruin the one lucky break I finally got.

By the time I was in high school they’d stopped grading my papers. I mean, I still handed them in, but whenever the teacher waved the paper in the air and asked who wrote it, I wouldn’t answer. At first I kept quiet because I really thought it was better that way, and later I just couldn’t bring myself to answer.

I know what you’re thinking. What’s so difficult about raising your hand and calling out your name? What’s the big deal? Today I would have sorted it out in no time; as you can see, talking isn’t a problem for me today. But back then? Just to approach someone felt like climbing Kilimanjaro. That’s why I’m telling you you shouldn’t judge, you understand? Because when you meet a person, you only see part of his life, but never the whole movie. And who knows, maybe just a second ago a volcano erupted in his soul and you never even knew. That’s why I also think God slipped up with the Ten Commandments, ’cause if he had put “don’t judge” in there, maybe things would have looked different.