For the past few years, I have lived with the stubborn genetic defect that engrips my facial features and hair. 
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   In my line of work I come across hundreds of customers a week, most of which let their curiousity get the best of them and they end up staring and asking. "Can I ask why your face is all broken out?" or a personal favorite that I was asked one Halloween, "So, are you going as Two-Face for Halloween?". I laughed at the latter and stated, "I just may". For those that are not aware, "Two-Face" is one of the primary villains in the Batman comics (he is also played by a great actor in The Dark Knight) and like the character itself, I am plagued by "Why did this have to happen to me".  I, of course, on some level was hurt by the Two-Face remark but deep down, being the nerd I am, I recognized with the Harvey Dent (Two-Face) character at that moment. The trials he went through, the scrutiny he faces, and the insanity it caused him. Unlike the character however, I am not a gun-wielding villain bent on taking over Gotham. Though, I have been a villain in many online situations, it kind of goes with the territory being Horde and all.

   Living with a physical malice such as psoriasis...it's not easy. People view you as a lepper some of the time, some won't even get close enough to shake your hand. There is some, also, that will not make eye-contact for long b/c you can tell they are avoiding staring at the red splotches and flaking on my skin. It's hard not to think bad of those folks, but in the end, I remember they're human too. Also, these situations are not "all the time", I have my good days and bad days w/ outbreaks.
 
   For outsiders, it's all just a value of remembering that psoriasis itself is not contagious, it's not viral, and it's not easily remedied with diet and/or health plans. It's a part of the genetic code that lives within 15% of Americans. My own father struggles with it, and it costs him greatly, financially, to deal with it. It does for everybody.

   For all the folks that shy away, though, there are the folks that look past the abnormality. Family, for one, has been a saving grace for me through it all. Friends are another, they give the optimism and care that is truly needed for the strength to keep going outside and walking within the world...when I actually go outside. lol