Baby, I Was Born This Way

Baby, I was born this way. Learning how to be comfortable in your own skin is a lifelong process. I guess we all feel a little different, not in with the “in-crowd”. Like everybody else has their life together better than you do. Girls, I am a Baby Boomer and it took me 45 years to finally feel comfortable in my own skin.

You’re not alone, we all feel different. Read on for some bittersweet life lessons I wish I had learned earlier, ’cause, “Baby, I was born this way”!!

BLESS OUR SOUTHERN BIPOLAR HEARTS

Here in the South, we have always known we are a little eccentric. I’ve always known I had 2 different sides. I was either super high energy Meg or low energy sleeping Meg. Lots of my relatives could definitely be called, “Crazy Southerners”!

I like to think I put the FUN in dysFUNctional. When my psychiatrist diagnosed me with Bipolar Disorder, I was relieved. It was as if the crazy jigsaw puzzle of my life suddenly came into focus.

I laugh at my crazy (manic) behavior often. I take my meds on time and I am, sort of, almost like a normal functioning human being.

LIFE ISN’T ALL IT’S CRACKED UP TO BE

My Retired Navy husband of 21+ years, introduced me, without my consent, to crack cocaine. I became instantly addicted for nine months. He knew what he was doing, and sadly, it was the best nine months of our twenty-year marriage. He had been into drugs since he was a teenager and I knew that. I should have known better…

The Navy kept him clean and when he retired, his “mid-life crisis” wasn’t to have an affair with another blonde. No, he turned back to drugs and wanted me to join his party.

I quit Crack after nine months while going from a Marilyn Monroe body type to a Nicole Richie body type weighing only 88 pounds.

FEELING COMFORTABLE IN YOUR OWN SKIN

I was born in Atlanta and my mother’s name is Dixie. She has red hair, green eyes, freckles and white, white skin. I used to feel that I wasn’t attractive enough to compete with the other white girls because I couldn’t get a tan.

To compensate I used self-tanner which of course, looked orange. Since skin cancer runs in my family, I stayed out of the sun. Remember this was the 1970’s when a suntan was expected for all girls who wanted to be beautiful.

Fast forward and I am now happily married to a Chinese American Doctor. He raves about my lily-white skin and for the first time in 50 years of living, I feel comfortable in my own skin. Because remember…

On December 16, we got hitched by an Elvis Impersonator in Las Vegas. What a hoot and so much fun! For our honeymoon night, we saw Lady GaGa in Vegas the same night she announced she would have a concert residency in Las Vegas for 2 years at 75 Million a year. Check out this article.

Lady GaGa, or Stefani as she was born, has motivated me to embrace my inner quirks- being BiPolar. Lady GaGa has also motivated me to embrace my outer quirks–my glow in the dark, white, white skin.