You try to be normal…

AUDIO RECORDING, PROFESSIONAL ACTOR

Tiny a** towns tend to target anyone who’s an “other.” Now imagine that other is a young kid who involuntarily twitches and has vocal tics. That was me. Imagine getting bagged on for having Tourette’s, and no matter how much you try to be normal, you just can’t. Now despite being stuck with this condition, your classmates think it’s your fault. And it’s not just your grade, the grades above and below you get in on it.

God help you if you quit the hockey and baseball teams because you’re tired of being hurt all the time. That just singles you out even worse. Only thing that can save you is if your family moves 1000 km away.

That was a huge piece of luck for me, but not everyone can start over like that. If it wasn’t for that business transfer, I’d probably be dead before I was 18.

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