How being an unpaid therapist as a child led to writing this blog

An origin story starting with being the agony aunt at school

In 7th grade, my parents called me the ‘agony aunt’ of my school. I was Fort Knox for most of my grade-the unpaid therapist trusted with a lot more than I realized at the time. What can I say? I loved to help people. And most of the time, I just had to lend an ear. In robotics class, I would sit and talk to Michelle about her boyfriend issues. In history, I would squeeze Kaitlyn’s hand as she rambled on about what was going on at home.

After therapying people for issues way above my pay grade for a year, I began picking up smaller things about people without them having to tell me. I could tell something happened at lunch just by the crinkle in someone’s brow in the 4th session, or if they had cried last night when they went to the washroom 7 million times in one class. Since then, the skill has just grown as I make weird, quiet connections with the things around me, linking them back to something I researched or saw online like a mad scientist with a ball of red string.

Eventually, I started looking beyond just connections and familiar faces, but at headlines, apps, and conversations that kept me awake at night. Who knew those hours when we were chatting, bored by class, could have changed my brain chemistry? And so one day last week, while pondering in the car heading back from god-knows-where in the rain (so cliché I know), it struck me. Could I put pen to paper with my little observations? And BOOM — the brainchild of the Eavesdroper (this blog series) was born.

I’m not in 7th grade anymore, and in the following pieces, I won’t be talking about who cursed out who in dance class (unfortunate as preteen drama was super interesting) but about the trails of connections I see inside my little corner of the world. So here I am writing my first piece. Just a warning, my mind’s a messy place. You are going to see pieces with a surprisingly full-fledged argument of why I think How to Train Your Dragon is the best movie ever made, and why this year's Met Gala was an absolute flop due to the economic situation in a place I just traveled, and how privilege affects the lens through which people see the world. Nevertheless, if you came this far, follow along for my crazy outlook on life and to see if you can actually find girls’ dinner table convos interesting. See you in the next piece!