The March List

[serene]

1. Quit the Catholic church. My mother hit the roof, but it was not only the real beginning of my adulthood (I was 13), but it was the foundation for learning that if I made my own decisions, the world wouldn't stop revolving.

2. Climbed the cliff at Black's Beach. Climbing down and then back up a cliff high enough to be used as a hangglider port (in the mud, because it had rained the day before) was not easy, but it was so satisfying, and it has always overshadowed the public-nudity part of the experience for me.


3. Moved out of my mother's house, even though it had only been a few months since I'd been attacked. It was scary, but so important.

4. Chose 4 years of celibacy to remind myself that my body was mine, and that I didn't need sex more than I needed a rich inner life, and to be proud of who I was with.