goldfish have no memories

what changed? i got hurt. i felt pain. to avoid it i got tough. i got a mohawk. i started wearing steel-toed boots every day. i grew into my skin. people started noticing. i became what i used to fear. what i used to admire. the beautifully dangerous people on the corner i was always told to stay away from. i looked in the mirror and thought i can do this. for the first time i saw it. i am different. i feel different. i am not who i once was, the one you knew. the one you thought you knew. i felt less invisible. sometimes. not always. but a step. a small step.

it's tough to keep moving up.