Tina:

I grew up in a small town outside of LA. Born and raised. Have I ever thought about leaving? Sure, and I did on what could’ve been considered long vacations. But I never really left California. I love it here. I could never get enough of the variety in landscape; mountains, ocean, desert so many things to see and do. Even we were all born and raised in California, the Kennard family seems to have been misplaced here. My parents are Republicans and with that, devout Christians all the way. They love God, the President, and America. They were typical Midwesterners planted in the heart of California. My mother, Jean strived for perfection, but had her own skeletons in the closet. She gave birth to me at 16 years old, and married my wild musician father who was only 18. This I believe was the last sin she ever admitted to committing. Their marriage didn’t last. My father was wild and she had found God. He couldn’t commit and so he left to sew his wild oats.  She soon re-married a Christian man named Ron and they had a child, my younger brother Aidan. We were the perfect vision of the all-American family. My brother and I grew up in church. We prayed, read our bibles and were actively involved in the church’s youth group from the start. I particularly focused on the wonderful drama program it offered. It was if nothing else an outlet for my creativity. But I secretly craved more. I dreamed of moving to LA, of going to college there, of getting away from home. I felt oppressed. I knew there was something missing in my life. I could feel something pulling me, tugging at my soul to search for itthe missing piece.

Life was pretty simple or should’ve been for me. I dated boys, had ***** with them(unbeknownst to Mom), loved them and couldn’t stand the thought of them all at the same time. I frequently caught myself looking at women and felt ashamed but unable to stop myself. I wasn’t *****. I couldn’t be. What in the world would I tell my Mother?  I would find a decent man, marry, have kids and grow old. That is what I was raised to think a good girl did. (Maybe I wasn’t such a good girl!!) None the less, I was never satisfied. Nothing felt quite right in my life.