Salt and Vinegar Chips
I used to hate salt and vinegar chips.
Their strong smell made my eyes water. Their sour taste made me shudder. Their saltiness made me cough.
They remind me of myself.
I’ve been taught I’m unpleasant, sour, aggressive, and undesirable. I was taught that so that I would silently accept abuse and dehumanization , believing I deserved it.
If I ever protested the treatment I went through, I was pretty much told to “stay salty.”
One time, when I was at the grocery store, I noticed bags of salt and vinegar chips sitting on a shelf in the chip isle. About all the other bags of chips were almost sold out, but the supply of salt and vinegar chips seemed completely full. No one was buying them.
I decided to give salt and vinegar chips another try.
Their strong smell made my eyes water. Their sour taste made me shudder. Their saltiness made me cough.
They were delicious.
All my life, I tried to change myself so that I could fit the tastes of others. But at the end of the day, I was still judged as being sour and unpleasant. Nobody wanted me.
But salt and vinegar chips never changed.
Though not a lot of people like them, there are still people who eat them. They enjoy their strong smell. They enjoy how the chips seem to sucker punch their taste buds.
And now, so do I.
(Written on mobile)
