My biological mother left us two months after I was born. My father allowed my stepmother to mistreat me, and he joined in on the violence.

I was removed from the home at 5 because of this, and was raised by my maternal uncle & his wife. They were excellent parents for the most part.

This year, I visited my uncles grave for the first time in 20 years (I live 1400 miles away now). This is one of those massive cemeteries that go on for miles, no one else was there, it was a Monday morning & raining. While I was there, I saw my biological father’s grave nearby.

I cursed him & literally urinated on his headstone. It felt cathartic at the time, but I’m embarrassed by how gross & juvenile it is. I thought I was “above” such behavior. I’m still not sure how I feel about it.

When I was 15 I snuck out with three people I barely knew for the weekend and went to a concert over 100 miles away from home. My mom thought I was just across town staying with a friend for a few days in the summer. Saw System of a Down, Powerman 5000, Kid Rock, KoRn and Metallica. Hell of a first concert.

Edit: This was the Atlanta show in 2000 where James Hetfield of Metallica was injured and basically everyone else on the tour came out and played with them. Metallica did make up the show later that summer over a weekend. Seeing multiple people comment about seeing that same tour and some that were at the Atlanta show has been awesome!