Change of scenery

   So after having all these surgeries while I was younger did make the person I am today. How I am socially, physically, and mentally are all the product of living with PBS. I really didn't have "friends" going through all this in the beginning. It always just me and my family. After my last surgery, for a while, when I was 5 (abdominal wall reconstruction) I started attending kindergarten. That year I started adjusting to being around other kids my age. It was at that time I realized that I was different then everyone else. I couldn't play and rough-house with all the boys because of the lack of abdominal muscles. At summer camp, I would realize that I was the only one with surgery scars on my stomach. It was then where I started being more and more self conscious. As you all may know, younger kids can be extremely brutal. It was at that point where I started experiencing, as little as it may seem, bullying. At first it would be simple things, like asking questions. "What's the matter with you?", "Why does your stomach look like that?", and "Why doesn't your stomach look normal?" were the starters. Nothing serious at that point. I wouldn't let it bother me because I knew I was going to a different school to start over.
   My family moved us into Millville after living in Delmont for as long as I can remember. Our family lived in Millville and we wanted to move closer to them. So it was at that time that we moved to where we are now. We live right down the street from an elementary school where I would start attending first grade. Being the new kid was difficult on its own, let alone "looking" different added to it. At first I just kept to myself and didn't really talk to anyone. The only real interaction I would have with people would be the insults coming from my classmates. This time around the insults cut deeper. It was kindergarten all over again, except the insults were a little more brutal. "Your fat" , "Why's your stomach look like that? Are you pregnant?", "No one likes you. You should just stay away from us.". I just couldn't catch a break. Until I met my first friend.
  My first friend was Erick. He lived right down the street from us and I would see him riding his bike around the neighborhood. I'm not entirely sure how we started becoming friends. All I do remember is that we would eat lunch together. From there I started becoming a little more sociable with people. Honestly, I always use to be a social butterfly. Yet, I was only social by trying to make people laugh. I would do it to try and make people like me. Anyways, me and Erick were friends for a while. My mom would even joke around and say that he was her adopted son. We would ride bikes together, stay the night at each others house, and play video games. Until he moved. Needless to say I was upset, but it helped me realize that not everyone is bad. Look at it from my point of view at that age: the only adults I talked to were my parents or the doctors, and the doctors were always putting me through test; all the kids I ever talked to, besides family, were always mean to me. It was hard for me to trust people until I became friends with Erick. Next week, I will be getting into grade school and how I was growing socially, emotionally, and physically.

PS- Thanks Erick for being the first real friend I could count on. It meant a lot to me.