My teenage years remain a fog of chronic illness more than anything else. I tried to function as a sociable teen to little avail. I joined the Young Marines, and learned distaste for military hierarchy as a result long before I became skeptical of the military-industrial complex in general. My family went skiing frequently with other home-schoolers who had made arrangements with a local resort, and there was monthly roller skating at the local rink while the parents held meetings and planned other activities. But it's all hazy more than surreal.