I had no words for these feelings. And then people started using the word Ms. Suddenly, there was this handle with which I could identify myself and understand why I felt so out of whack with the culture around me.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
It was only as I wrote about it that I began to find paths of access to feelings that were intolerable to me then.
Everywhere I go people come up to me, they mob me - anyone who has MS or has a relative with MS - they come up and hug and cry.
I had about four days of like, 'Pity party, woe is me, it's all over.' Then I did some research and spoke with doctors and got in contact with people who have MS, and I soon realized it's actually a lot more manageable than the kind of public perception of it is, and that's part of the reason why I've been so outspoken about it.
I felt alien my whole life, but I didn't feel alien because of my gender. Other people made me aware of my gender.
I've always felt very much from a mixed culture - mainly English and French, but also Nigerian, Thai, Mexican. Everything's had its influence on me.
As I travel across the country speaking about MS, perhaps I can offer others comfort and hope.
I think there are a lot of myths about MS, and it may have affected my career.
I was a very, I think, lonely kid, very introspective. I felt very much at odds with my environment and my culture... Probably a genetic flaw. I can't really explain it.
I have always felt more at home in a culture that has nothing to do with the one I was born and brought up in.
Oddly enough, MS has made my life so much better than it was before. I now appreciate what I have and I am not running around like a rat in a maze.