We moved a lot. Like A LOT. I was in two different kindergartens, five different second grades, moved during fifth grade, and between ninth and tenth. Between the moves and the different school districts breaking up elementary, middle, and high school differently, I was perpetually the new kid.
Small towns don't do a very good job of embracing a new kid. So, I didn't make a lot of friends, and tended to be with the other kids that no one liked. This led to situations like the Halloween party that I got invited to as a joke in 4th grade, and the rumors my one friend (also new to school that year) and I were lesbians in 5th grade. And getting called an N-word lover for sitting on the bus with the one kid that no one would interact with in 7th grade. And creating The I'm Normal Other People Are Weird Society with my one friend in 8th grade.
I think it made me more aware of left out kids, and made me a champion of the underdog. But it has helped solidify me as kind of an outcast with difficulty finding my place in groups.
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