As children, rudeness and torment often begin at an alarmingly early age. Although the phrase “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words may never hurt me” was coined to comfort the kids on the bitter end of the cruelty, having to face bullies was often too overwhelming. It is for this reason that almost everyone can remember seeking some form of escape as a child. Whether it was via comics, cartoons, or coloring, there was always one thing we could do that would allow us the gift of escaping our reality. It was as if we were getting high on a drug that was saving our souls. Our respective pastime was the only thing that kept us sane as kids who struggled to make friends at school. In Roxane Gay’s “I Once Was Miss America,” the author’s drug of choice as a child was her favorite book series, called Sweet Valley High. In reading this series, Gay was able to immerse herself into the lives of the characters. She could escape the torment she faced as the only black girl in her all-white school and finally be in the in-crowd. In terms of Gay’s feelings of being reduced down to her heritage and nothing more, I have often been able to relate. While I have never been the only Latina in my school or community, there were countless times that I had been the only Hispanic girl in my class. Having been in the gifted and honors classes my whole life, nearly every other classmate I had was white and/or male. When you’re unlike everyone else around you, making friends can feel impossible. That feeling was extremely daunting throughout my entire childhood and because I was constantly a member of the minority group, I completely understand Roxanne Gay’s need to escape it all and enter your own new world.