Every Day

A is not bound to the identity of one person. S/he experiences all genders, all sexualities, all ethnicities, all religions. S/he literally steps into the shoes of others, seamlessly shifting identities every twenty-four hours; as a result, A gains a deep empathy for all types of people. A’s experience allows them to understand that people are basically the same:“The only way I can navigate through my life is because of the 98% that every life has in common” (77). A simply does not have the time to focus too much on the body’s differences.

But the experience of difference is eye-opening for A, given A’s unique perspective on life. A’s movement from gender to gender, language to language, and race to race allows a broadness to their worldview. When Rhiannon presses A to tell her if A feels (to A) more like a boy or a girl, A cannot answer Rhiannon to her satisfaction. A is both…and neither. Rhiannon’s experience of being tied to one body makes it hard for her to understand this loose conceptualization of identity. It’s not surprising that A often feels most comfortable when A is in nature, which allows him/her to transcend the body’s limits and feel the enormity of life.