Both of us struggled with knowing how to love ourselves when no one else wanted to. At least no one we longed for.

I should have known it wasn’t going to be easy. We’re all human. I just want my own humanity to be respected.

I needed to become new. To become a witness to self. The me that was alive within and becoming increasingly impatient to be known.

How one lesson learned late one night at a Christian camp may have shaped my entire life.