"I want to live life," I said. "You may!" Called all the books on the thrift store shelves. "Own and us a million lives shall be yours!" And yet, how easily I forfeited those lives when one particular life beckoned me to lay my bookish self aside and travel. I stopped hiding my hair under a plaid hat and became the fiery, sweet Ruby girl that one either loved or hated. I never had time to read, but I was making time to write stories, my only solace through those days when I wished for less drama and more tolerance, where I hated that I always had to defend beliefs I cared little for as I inwardly battled deeper questions none could understand because all they saw was that I wore dresses and didn't celebrate Christmas. I stepped on my first plane and sat by a boy for two weeks, a feat for a timid girl who couldn't carry a conversation with any guy, as I learned about some of what I might believe. I learned to love hiking, and suddenly...