the thing about being bullied for being weird as a kid is that even if you've always embraced being weird your brain is still always looking for the line where it's too much. you can be as proudly and intentionally weird as you want and you can love being weird but your mind is still convinced there's a point where you get too weird and people start treating you like a weird looking bug again. also it feels like you reach that point 500 times a day even if everyone you've spoken to today found you pleasant and likable and even if you're completely alone in your house with nobody looking at you at all.
And when people tell you "I don't mind you being weird! I love weird" all you can think is "you don't know what you're saying", "they all say that". Which... I know is rude. And I know they probably mean well. But knowing how many people have judged you in the past... It just gets so scary. How are you supposed to know if you love me being weird. You've never seen me weird. Nobody has. The few who have mocked me and ostracized me and made me feel like I didn't deserve to be alive


















