Pageboy: A Memoir

by Elliot Page

I’ve watched adults slowly chip away at their children, their overprotection a form of neglect. If they were a character in a screenplay the first note would be “too much,” but they aren’t actually watching, they aren’t really listening. All the value wrapped up in work, in image, in followers. The opposite of what acting should be, a disintegration of ego, not the stroking of one. It ends careers.

If we took just five minutes to recognize each other’s beauty, instead of attacking each other for our differences. That’s not hard. It’s really an easier and better way to live. And ultimately, it saves lives. Then again, it’s not easy at all. It can be the hardest thing, because loving other people starts with loving ourselves and accepting ourselves.

I could disappear, leave the body for a moment, paradoxically allowing me to connect to my body more.