Mixed Emotions

“I didn’t listen to one black person who loved me because listening to black folk who loved me brought me little pleasure. I’d fallen in love with provoking white folk, which really meant I’d fallen in love with begging white folk to free us by demanding that they radically love themselves more. ” (Laymon 155)

Throughout this section I noticed a lot mixed emotions coming from Laymon and how he receives love for himself. To begin, Keise Laymon begins to have several issues with his self image and has trouble with self love. An eating disorder develops which does not make his life during high school any easier. There is a hunger that consumes him which he cannot control. As his body weight fluctuates, so does his mental health which does not improve whether he is thinner or gains weight.