One:

No matter how one looks at it, the gaze of one’s mother should never be as full of

contempt as mine was. Misprision was one of her talents. The frills of girlhood seem to

make her fester. Which leads to the childhood one would rather forget.

Otherwise, two:

Comparison may steal one’s joy, but it is often the last of ammunition. Of course, that

doesn’t mean the act of holding your wishes against you wasn’t as harsh. Ballet classes

were everything for me. That is why she cancelled them.

Three:

Softness should not be foreign. If the light touch of one’s friend or the genuine concern

their parents hold for your regard (something that you learn much later on in life to be a

normal consequence of friendship) causes a weird stirring within you, it should be

checked out. Even if you don’t want to.

Four:

Do not ignore the pause in your father’s voice when you ask about anything at all. From

the mundane to the religious inquiries, down to the things you already know about. Is it

true, that girlhood means enduring this? It often leads to words that were better left

unsaid.

Five:

If you feel lighter when they aren’t around, when you can roam freely with your siblings,

when the pit in your stomach acquiesces, then you know why it felt wrong. It’s the same

feeling you get when you arrive at your ballet class, right on time.