Different

“No, I’m sorry I don’t wear color or anything girly like that.”

“Oh, wow then you’re just ‘not like the other girls, you’re different’ you must have a lot of ego to think that you’re special from the thousands of people pursuing science.”

Her face started to boil as she held her breath, it didn’t work, “DO YOU THINK I WANTED TO BE DIFFERENT? TO BE OTHER? I did what I could with the hand that I was dealt. I WOULD LOVE TO BE INDISTINGUISHABLE IN A CROWD. I used to fit it with everyone and not have a thought in my head except what the next trend was so every one of us looked the exact same in that month’s uniform. Survival was barely on the horizon for me then. I could live my life peacefully. But no, EVERYONE ELSE saw me as other and blatantly reminded me every chance they got. So I stopped trying to blend into a crowd that I knew would not hide me. I emphasized what made me neon and loud, but demonstrated it as a positive from years of writing down every thought of mine in my lab notes. I was seen as behind the track so my only way of survival was to convince enough people that we missed something important running to the finish line. I respect myself enough to take care of my needs for shelter and prosperity so I’ll do what’s necessary to get it. So no it’s not for attention or maybe it is why do you care? You’re not affected.”