The First Day In a New World

On the outside, I seem normal: 17, 5 little siblings, laughter and friends, above average grades...

But on the inside, I'm different. Only two of my siblings are related to me (half-sisters on different sides of the family)- two I've never even met before. My laughter is forced most of the time, my friends don't act like friends all the time, and my grades are bad enough to jeopardize college.

But the biggest thing that sets me aside is that I'm a synesthete (sin-es-THEE-ja). The definition of synesthesia is:

"A condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another. As when the hearing of sound produces the visualization of a color."

Or in easy-to-understand words, it basically means that some wires in my brain are crossed so that when I see or hear letters, numbers, or words I see colors and sometimes pictures, textures, or personalities in my mind's eye. Sometimes I even hear noises or taste flavors. It's called associative synesthesia.

Here are some examples: when I see the word Bree, for instance, I see the word and it's light lavender with a silvery sheen or haze over it. It also makes a noise like a trill of a bell (one of my favorite words). Or the name Lindsey. It's highlighter yellow and tastes like sour lemonade. Marie looks like black tap shoes with a big red bow on top. The letter F is brownish orange and feels like sandpaper. V is dark purple with a black background and is a vindictive bitch.

Okay I'm going to stop now:) If you have any questions or comments, just ask and I'll do my best to answer. But one more thing: Synesthesia is NOT a mental illness or disease. It's a gift:)