I was recently lured to another social networking site, and discovered a community for my high school graduating class. Skimming the profiles of the members, I am flabbergasted by the number of them that are still in the exact same city, and the number that self-identify as deeply conservative Christians. It has served as a vivid reminder of just how much of a freak I was by the standards of that time and place.

One member of the community (hence, one of my former school mates) friended me and said, “I see you managed to escape!” Umm, well yeah. It’s not like I had to carefully time the guards’ patrol and sneak out between the sweeping searchlights. I didn’t have to tunnel under a barbed wire fence. There are maps that show all the major routes, you know. Maybe I should send her one.

I can still remember the dissonance I experienced when I went from being considered a total mutant by the standards of the bible belt, to being considered almost boringly vanilla in my new home on the west coast. It was disconcerting at first, and then I learned to really appreciate it. Liberating.