Before I could lose my nerve, I blurted out, “I have something to tell you. Something crazy”

Idiscovered something interesting in camp. I learned all about “in-towners” and “out-of-towners.” But both groups considered me “different.”

Because of my quality upbringing, several years of homeschooling, coupled with the fact that my parents had never allowed a television in our house (as I mentioned, this was before we became religious; they believed that TV “makes kids dumb”), I was a rather sheltered young teen. I wasn’t familiar with references to outside culture, didn’t know movies and characters, and didn’t know any non-Jewish music. I was so sheltered, that in many ways, I related more to many of the “in-towners,” who had also grown up without those things. But culturally, I connected much more with “out-of-towners” and shared their opinions, thoughts, and feelings on many topics. Ironically, the fact that I didn’t share many of their experiences led them to mark me as “sheltered” and “yeshivish.” It was a weird place to be. I didn’t feel like I fit it anywhere.