Thomas Sky Johnston Gallo

 Before I was self conscious, I was Thomas Sky.

Thomas Sky Johnston Gallo. That is what I wrote on the top of every page of every school assignment until age 10. It only irked me once I realized how many more letters my name had than other kids’ names and how inconvenient it was to write that all the time. But I wrote it. I trusted my parents' judgement back then.

Mom was obsessed with the idea that I was somehow different from other kids. But no kid wants to be different. They just want to fit in. Fitting in is how you survive. The strategy wears out as you grow older. She had me IQ tested. Skipped grades. Homeschooled. She made sure I was different. I felt no smarter than anyone else. Just younger and more afraid.