Ever since I was a child, I grouped myself out of the rest of my peers, even if they hadn't already done it on their end. I've always felt separate from others, not necessarily in a bad way, though sometimes it can feel that way. I learned I was bisexual at a very young age, and immediately felt in touch with who I was. I didn't feel discouraged about revealing it to the world until I didn't get the same support I was giving myself. This easily transitioned into being called slurs in the middle school cafeteria by all the popular boys and never getting to experience a high school relationship. On my freshman year homecoming, I was invited to the big after-party with all my new peers. My best friend Jaedyn and I showed up in our shortest and sparkliest mini dresses, ready to blow away all the fresh meat. This was the first house party with alcohol and promiscuous activity I had attended, so naturally, Jaedyn and I sat back and enjoyed the show. We sat on a recliner together in the cinema room of Cooper Davidson's mansion. We witnessed drunken 14-year-olds run in and out, boys and girls' first makeout sessions, it was just like the movies, only a lot less cool. Monday back at school, Jaedyn, a closeted bisexual, came running up to me in the hallway. She expressed that the cinema room we sat in together was deemed the 'hookup room', and we were now rumored to be lesbians. The first high school scandal had dropped, and it was about me. Jaedyn refused to walk with me in the hallway or sit with me at lunch. Her internalized homophobia helped make me feel like such an outsider, even though I was proud of who I was. Jaedyn later got a boyfriend, which cleared her reputation. My septum piercing and I, on the other hand, continued to be the "lesbian" on the pom team. For the remainder of high school, I conformed more and more, in hopes of being seen as "normal". I took out my nose piercing, lightened my already blonde hair, wiped off my black eyeliner, and slithered back into the closet. I've learned that writing something down to express emotion is such a powerful way to feel connected to something, even if it is just a piece of paper or a document. Writing makes me feel more connected and in tune with myself. Being proud of a piece of literature is the most victorious feeling I can reward myself with. The best part about it is that nobody else has to understand it but me! I have had high school teachers give me a C- for my best and most tedious work, but, to my understanding, they just couldn't pick up on my version of their prompt, which completely contradicts everything about creative writing.