by Kyle Pond
When we pick up a book or read an article, often we already know a bit about the person we’re reading. Many of you know me, even if you don’t know who I am. I have a penchant for inserting myself into unusual places- at the right time, and the right place. I have a story to tell, and I need to practice before I’m able tell it in a way that helps other people. What better way to do this, then to let you know who I really am- the good, the bad, and the ugly.
What is your identity? Ask your friends, lovers neighbors and brothers. Did they tell you that they were a job? Did they say they were a mother? A father? Husband or wife? Our jobs change, our children leave the nest, and relationships end. Do you really know who you are? We’re in a unique place in our history. The time for renaissance and renewal is now. History is pregnant, the season for self-exploration is ripe.
So, who are you? I’ll do my best to answer this question with the same off-putting pathological truthiness that doesn’t make me a hit at most dinner parties.
I’m an ambidextrous, non-binary addict with a giftedness in logical and emotional reasoning. I love sports, acting, and technology. I’ve rodeoed with cowboys and smoked crack with gangsters. I can’t dance and I can’t sing. I get lost in closets. I’ve been to nine rehabs, three psychiatric facilities and three jails. I’ve walked unarmed around the most dangerous cities in America. I grew up on welfare and was the first male in my family to attend college. I am kind and nurturing and enjoy caring for newborn babies. I do not want to fit neatly into society. I’m an activist, a social engineer, scientist, and subject matter expert. I am sober. I am white, privileged, and righteous. I am perfectly broken, disruptive and I am not alone.
You’d be quite right to weigh the words of a delusional superhero, but I’m writing it anyway and hope that in the next few weeks you’ll read it and somehow find it inspiring.