When I Stepped Into the Limelight
There was agony and ecstasy in an alternate reality of my youth
CW: Drug and alcohol use.
When I graduated from high school in the year 2000, I was one of the youngest in my class — I wouldn’t turn 18 for three more months, on September 21st.
I was completely ignored by my parents who, at the time, were doting on my half-sister who is twelve years younger than me, so they were not aware that I was then dating a man who was twenty-five years old. and also my boss at the store where I worked.
I never got into any trouble when I was in high school, but I wasn’t a very good student either, and I certainly didn’t go straight off to college like I probably should have.
Instead, I followed my boyfriend John wherever he wanted to go and did whatever he wanted to do. This included bad things like drinking, smoking cigarettes and weed, and occasionally taking hard drugs especially while on trips to NYC.
John looked older than his age and had a way about him, a sort of swagger and subtle sexiness that make people pay attention to him. This is why it was so easy for him to sneak me into New York City nightclubs when I was still seventeen. He would charm male bouncers while he handed over money and I would stand behind him and hold…
