“I never realized it was weird until I was telling my ex, and he mentioned that it never happens to him.”

I'm a Southern California-based writer on the Lifestyle team who likes to try and rank viral foods and read and recommend awesome books.

—Jennifer 77, female, Birmingham, Alabama

"Strangers are kind to me almost immediately, but I also have to deal with them staring at me like an object on public transport. Men don't really love me; they just want to look at me, and then they go out of their way to hurt me as soon as I show humanness. I also struggle with empathy a lot because it's not normal to have so much for something you did nothing to obtain. And I also know I cannot live without it. Why would I want to? It's so fucked up. It's the best and worst thing you can imagine."

Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.