It was a painful realization, one without rationale. I felt heavy with shame that I had been pulled into the center of the political universe, mostly by my own doing. I did not belong on Air Force One, drinking champagne or musing over ball gowns I could not afford. I was consumed with fear that my past had infiltrated the life I was building. I felt that I had betrayed the world that had made me, and I began to grapple with the question of who I truly was amidst this sea of power and privilege.
