Foreigner

A portable television, a pair of headphones and films, from all over the world, that were broadcast in the early hours. In the relative peace of my room, I'd watch films from mainland Europe, Africa, Asia and elsewhere. The small screen actually made it easier to read the subtitles and watch the action at the same time. Maybe the thoughts and feelings of people in other lands got through to me, and I became more of a stranger to everyone around me.

My mother used to say that my mind didn't seem to work in quite the same way. An assessment to be held in about six months will tell us whether she was correct. As a teenager, I felt this difference. I felt increasingly isolated.

Recently, I heard that I didn't seem strange or foreign to someone in another part of the world. It reminded me of all the time I spent watching those films from other places. Maybe I feel strange or foreign in what many would think of as my part of the world.