Onaga, Kansas, when I lived there, had a population of 900 people. I don’t remember a distinct smell to the town, though I was usually in the gym after school which smelled like 30 boys who rarely showered and who wore the same dirty shirt to sports practice every day until it was too crusty to wear any longer. A neighbor dog broke his leash and killed my rabbit the first week we lived there. I transferred in the middle of 5th grade and during a sex-ed class I passed out when the teacher lectured on the female anatomy. I was made fun of severely. To combat this I started weightlifting and placed 4th at the AAU Junior Olympics. Upon completion of 6th grade, I transferred to Havensville Middle School, in the next town over. There were seventeen boys and only one girl in my 8th grade graduating class. I made the honor roll for the first time, played several sports and won a gold medal in the 100m dash. My father said this was a turning point for me. We moved to Manhattan, Kansas when I was 14 years old. Andy Van Slyke was still my favorite baseball player. My favorite album was Nirvana's Nevermind and I still took Max, my favorite stuffed animal, everywhere I went.