I've heard it said (written) here many times: "What was it about me that stood out? What was it that made me the target?" I've seen those words, or words like them many times.

Looking at the photographs that are appearing now, none of us stand out as being different or unusual in any way! We were just kids - our childhood should never have been interrupted.

The photographs I have seen are from kids at different locations in the world. It doesn't matter where we are from, we were just kids!

Best wishes ...Rik

Yes, Rik, and that's well worth noting. All of these pics show innocent boys who wanted nothing more than to just be a boy. I'm often struck by the commonality we all share here, particularly when it comes to the after-effects. While all our stories differ in details, the effects are often similar for everyone -- isolation, shame, fear, self-esteem issues, etc. I think one of the things that helped me the most in coming here was realizing that all these effects were normal for what I had been through. Knowing that helped tremendously so that I no longer felt like such a freak.