Inklings 2021

METAMORPHOSIS Felipe Clavijo Growing up was always my favorite part of life, and truly like nothing else. Occasionally I begin to miss the simpler times of childhood, running with my peers, talking about who gets to swing, and doing the most basic arithmetic as school work, but I would never go back to that time compared to what I have now. I have a job, aspirations, hobbies, and, of course, a body to call my own. I was the last among my friends to get one, but nonetheless, I was able to eventually. Your own body was seen as the definitive symbol of independence and maturity, and it allowed you to be more expressive than was ever possible on loaners. I gave it great importance, though I knew many who didn’t. It took me almost thirty five years in between loaners before I got my own, and it was embarrassing to be the last one of my friends to be able to. There were some who had it done by their twenties or thirties, and I envied them. In my eyes they had it so much easier than me, and that was no reason to resent them, but it certainly bothered me. Why was it such a struggle for me more than my friends? For some the answer is obvious, they had no problem with their loaner. They didn’t bother with the expense because they felt they didn’t really want to or need to, and with the exception of disease or extreme harm, never changed out of it. Quite a few of my friends are like this, and they are by far the majority of the population. Among us who bought bodies, we just call them “loaners”. This isn’t strictly negative, but there are certainly mixed feelings on them. I remember the ordeal I went through for mine, so for someone to not share the experience to any extent baffles me. I hadn’t properly thought about the fact that you could swap out your loaner until I was well into my thirties, and then it became an increasingly frequent thought. Before then, I had just assumed everyone was in a loaner because no one had ever stood out to me, and how would they? A loaner is indistinguishable from a purchase or a lease - the only difference is choice. It would have been impossible to recognize that someone was a loaner from any physical traits. As I came to learn more about it, some people seemed unfamiliar with their own bodies soon after purchase, and I have a more keen eye for it now, especially after experiencing it first hand.