Psyche logo

This Person Eats French Fries With a Fork and Teaches me a Lesson.

I don’t like French fries.

By ArtisKev N.Published about a year ago 4 min read
Like
This Person Eats French Fries With a Fork and Teaches me a Lesson.
Photo by Gilly on Unsplash

I don’t wash my hands again after taking a bath, but I still do something that seems childish and almost psychotic before laying my eyes to rest.

“Hand-fighting” — Yes, it sounds almost exactly like how I do it. I come up with fictional characters, their special skills, and sound effects using my hands, mouth, and imagination. Using my eyes, I make it look like a movie using nothing fancy straight out of a film studio.

My young sister was so done watching me lying down on my bed, trying to create sounds of a nuclear bomb out of my mouth while letting those two strongest characters fight against each other.

I got to say: that did satisfy my exploding imagination. But she, in turn, thought I was just too dumb to be an adult.

I am not exactly sure if this is a disorder that anyone could have. Or, maybe it’s just some sort of stubborn, stupid behavior that I failed to let go of even after those years.

But if it is a one-of-a-kind behavioral disorder, is it my fault for not trying to treat the condition, or is it her fault for not being sympathetic toward me?

By R. du Plessis on Unsplash

It’s a little thing to most people — but growing up with OCD meant that this wasn’t little to me. Something so small could turn into a whole thought process that kept me up at night. And so, I eat French fries with a fork.

— Michelle Cohen —

Apart from my ordinary life, there exist unusual pieces of my life story that, oftentimes, I try to hide away in some place no one can see; thus, my true identity has never been exposed.

But, things can escalate quickly when I spend time around someone so loved and so trusted that such an unusual piece of my identity slips off into my action.

Maybe my childish mind was tired, while its imagination was so dynamic that I wanted to bring it to real life. I could neither draw nor sing; I could neither write nor play music. But I was imaginative, having these two perfectly normal hands to shape them into different “forms”.

And so I did hand-fighting, something that my parents haven’t known about today. My young sister does know that, and I don’t want to hide it. My “unusual piece” has slipped off.

A couple of days ago, after countless slaps across my forehead, I hopped onto Google to find some comfort (I actually wanted to find reasons to rationalize my behavior). I stumbled across a website by the “National Alliance on Mental Illness” but in the “Personal Stories” category.

One article really stood out among thousands because of its unusual title “I Eat French Fries With A Fork”. You see, it is kind of “strange” to have some French fries with a fork; too strange that even I, who never have had French fries before, wonder if it is illegal to “fork those dried potato sticks”

The author’s pen name is Michelle Cohen, who was an OCD patient. She’s successful and hates it when people hand her fries without her seeing them wash their hands first. Her story is both somewhat intriguing and sympathetic, but its wisdom kept echoing in my mind to the point where I decide to be writing this article.

Just like any person living with a mental health condition, I have a story that goes far beyond the things you can see, whether they’re big or little. I hope the next time you see someone doing something a little bit strange, you’ll think of their story too.

Michelle Cohen —

“There is more to someone than meets the eye” is definitely the phrase I use to describe the previous two sentences. It encompasses every of our life stories, including the “unusual pieces” that have been shaping our identity.

My sister knows that I have this crazy mind to do imaginary stunts with my hands, but she never knows the story behind why I am the way I am. Maybe it is just some sort of mechanism my body uses to help me deal with reality.

Who knows? It might as well be worthwhile to let our stupid things slip out so that the world can see, but not by any means is the world ever worthy enough to tell our own stories or assume what truly belongs to us.

I have things to share, also unique and beautiful, beyond “the things you can see”, and so do you.

Maybe it isn’t our fault for existing and doing stupid things (it really isn’t). Sometimes, we just have to view each other’s odd behaviors through a lens of understanding and compassion.

Quote by Maya Angelou; Image created by the Author using Quozio Quote Maker

supportrecoveryeatingdepressionadvice
Like

About the Creator

ArtisKev N.

A writer, pianist, and artist to be. I write about writing advice, my personal life, and my opinions on different topics. Support me: https://rb.gy/ym5py

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.