My Sister Called Me a Leech at Thanksgiving Until a Colonel Stood Up and Changed the Room

my eye across the table and mouthed that she was proud of me. She did not correct Amanda. She never corrected Amanda. Over time that silence became its own kind of message: Amanda sets the weather. Everyone else dresses accordingly.

I left for NC State on an Army ROTC scholarship at eighteen. College gave me structure and purpose I had not anticipated.continue reading …