Sociopath

by Patric Gagne

Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future. —Oscar Wilde

Some feelings came naturally to me, like anger and happiness. But other emotions weren’t so easy. Empathy and guilt, embarrassment and jealousy were like a language I couldn’t speak or understand.

I was so out of control, I thought. But then I did something mean, and I was calm. And what’s worse, I liked that feeling.

The sociopath’s subconscious desire to feel is what forces him to act out.”

“Empathy, guilt, shame, remorse, jealousy, even love—these are considered social emotions,” she said. “We’re not born with them. They’re learned.”

I’ve come to accept that my version of love is a mosaic: tiny pieces of broken glass held together by fate so the light can shine through in different colors.