I am Not Who I Thought I Was

On Regeneration

Lately I’ve been wearing an identification bracelet from my childhood. It has my childhood name (Stacy) and my grandparent's address inscribed onto the underside of a little rectangle of stainless steel. On the outside of the rectangle is an American flag, with the words “one nation under god” inscribed beneath it.

I remember wearing this bracelet when I was seven, eight, ten. The years I lived with my grandparents, when my mom couldn’t take care of me. When I was too much for her. It still fits my wrist, which have always been dainty, unlike the rest of me.

I always find this bracelet when I am getting ready to move somewhere and going through the few boxes I take with me. I always put it on until I arrive to the new place. Then, eventually, I decide to take it off, and I put it back into one of the boxes.

I moved a lot when I was a kid. Like, a lot. More than most people I know, even people who grew up in the military. One year me and my mom moved four times, and I went to four diff…