Kelly James:  

My story, huh?!? It's not for the faint of heart... Let me see... Getting teased about my name being a "girl's" name through all grades of school was enough after several years to have me seriously entertaining thoughts, several times, of hanging myself from the lunch quad cover sometime in the early mornings...no thanks to all of you who did the same thing for my first 2 years in high school. Thanks to being a senior the ribbing pretty much stopped when I had a 4 class day. But you know how boring it is with no friends and you're home by 12:45pm each day? That's too much time to be alone... Now that I've worked through my anger issues, I'll put the rant pedestal away. I never did work up the courage to do it...and during my junior year someone actually showed me some decency, courtesy and respect, and I threw that whole suicide idea out the window; that person gave me back my hope that there was a life out there for me. I'm glad I did...I've actually had a pretty good life, since. I didn't treat that person very well, back then, and just wish I could take back something they never gave me any cause to do, and just do so many things all over again, differently. I just plodded along through life, going to SCC a few semesters and working different places for 9 years while I got my first steady boyfriend, which I broke off after a 1 1/2 year fling. I learned he was bi-polar and dangerous to himself and others around him...then I went into a deep depression because being alone again really sucked! I wish I had enough courage back then to make more friends, I still feel so lonely sometimes even though I finally met and fell in love, really--at first sight--with my partner of the last 19 years when I was 29, he was 27...we've been together since, and married October 12, 2008. We're living in Signal Hill, have a condo on The Big Island of Hawaii, Hawaii, a 38' motorhome to travel around the country (one of my dreams in HS), and I still have 2 dogs and had a 12 1/2 lb. polydactyl cat (don't look for the dictionary--he's got an extra toe and claw on each...Expand for more