My biological passed away 20 years ago when I was 14.
He didn’t have an easy life and didn’t have the tools I have to deal with it.
As I’ve gotten older I’ve seen him in my face, his bright purple hair in my blue. His love of metal music in me.
I think I’ve come to carry the best of him in me.
My step dad really became a father to me in that time.
I see him in me too, in so many of my ways of thinking and behaviors. His love of writing and his care for others.
And he and my mom are some of my biggest fans. They cheer me on and are proud of me.
Not everyone has that, and I am lucky.
Family is imperfect.
Many of us have chosen families made in connection rather than relation.
In a time where men in power show us the worst, I find myself grateful for those who show up and challenge it.
To the metal heads, the writers, the ones who show up. The ones who accept us as we are.
Anna E. Cook
Aldin The Mage