The Forgotten One

For as long as I can remember, I have been the person who is constantly forgotten. I’ve never been invisible. I say this because everywhere I’ve gone in life, I’ve stood out in some way or have made myself known. Despite this, I was still always forgotten.

I’ve gone on several field trips where the teachers take attendance and my name had been left off the list. I’ve been in numerous classes where the teacher assigns groups ahead of time and I’m not in any of the groups. I’ve gone to the store with people on so many occasions where they’ve almost left or have left without me because they forgot I’d come along.

When I was younger, I used to get really sad about it because it made me feel as though I wasn’t worth remembering or worth knowing. As I got older, I just came to see myself as someone who constantly slips people’s minds. They know me, know I’m a part of it but leave me out nonetheless because they were working so hard to remember everyone else.

Yesterday, I found out a friend of mine didn’t include me in an event I could easy have been included in. Immediately I felt like the forgotten one. However, I wasn’t just the forgotten one, because I was left out, I was also on a list to be left behind. When I asked my friend about it he said “well you weren’t the first person who came to mind”. Of course I wasn’t, I have never been that person to anyone.

Anyway, today I told one of my professors that I enjoyed his class and he responded by saying “oh, I take it you’re in my class?”. That kinda sucked because I sit close to the front, have attended every class, etc. I felt as though I’d have a face worth remembering but apparently not.

That’s a funny thing about university, if you blend in, you’re a part of the crowd which is quite vast. So, I feel as though many people around me are in a competition to see who can be the most noticeable individual. This way, profs notice the select view who defy the conventional and dress outrageously and do not take quite as much attention to others.

It is because of this ,that being the forgotten one who dresses to the norm, I acknowledge that I will go unnoticed on occasion, especially in the wave of people around me.