I used to hate shopping. Since middle school, I’d see girls my age obsessing over the newest pink, sparkly clothes from Justice.
I wanted to join in on the fashion obsession, but I couldn’t pretend hard enough. Nothing was wrong with those clothes, they just weren’t for me.
Shopping trips made me wildly uncomfortable and nothing ever felt right. While my friends all wanted to go, I wanted nothing more than to disappear and do something else, like go to the movies.
But as someone with mainly feminine friends all the way through high school, shopping seemed to be a big hobby. As I got older and discovered my queer and trans identity, this discomfort grew.