That year I met Elena, who would be my only girlfriend through high school. I had her and Isaiah. Isaiah brought a smile to my face every morning. Elena helped bring me into the world of music and ballet, classical music, composition, dance, literature. Oh! And theater. I was banned from ballet. My parents insisted that dance was the gateway to sin, s*x, and corruption. In secret, Elena taught me and I learned. There were mornings I woke and slipped her toe shoes on first thing. Before my feet ever touched the ground, I was in toe. I do miss wearing toe shoes.
Up to this point, my father had started telling me more than just that I was selfish. He also made it clear that I was beautiful, that I was too smart to be a girl, and that I should have been a boy. I began dressing like boys, lovi
