A First Time for Everything

The memoir’s author and illustrator, Dan Santat grew up in Camarillo, California, and his experiences of the world were limited (for the most part) to that small town. He spent time with his friends and helping his mother, devoting the rest of his free time to honing his artistic talents. In junior high school, Dan aimed to be invisible because every time he stood out, something went wrong. Bullied and teased, he chose to isolate himself from most of his peers to avoid getting hurt. Dan disliked the pressure of the social world of middle school, and his memories of it were tainted with aggression and pain. His attitude toward going to Europe was the same at first: He would much prefer to sit in his room and draw or play video games. This attitude changed as he experienced Europe and learned about the world beyond what he previously experienced.

On the trip, Dan drew what he saw, taking in the experiences, and even behaved with abandon from time to time. His self-confidence and excitement for life slowly emerged with each passing day and each new experience. Pushed into the next phase of his life, Dan received immediate freedom and responsibility; he comments on how “it felt so grown up” to be able to explore the city without any adult supervision (77).