Charlie Bloomer knows they don’t fit in with others in their small town. A 17-year-old aspiring journalist, Charlie navigates the world through several diverse lenses of life as a nonconforming queer person, half Korean and someone who struggles with generalized anxiety disorder. “I think growing up in Sandy has made me creative,” Charlie said.
“It’s finding beauty in the mundane things.” The Sandy High School senior said they feel the need to be constantly doing something. “I get sick if I stay in the same place.
” They enjoy spending time with their father, Chip, with whom they share a love of golf. “It’s a way to relax,” they said. Charlie is also close with their mother, Jeanney, going as far to say that she’s their best friend.
“She has a young soul,” they said. “I have an old soul.” While they are proud of their many identities, living in a place where being different is extremely noticeable can create a whirlwind of pressure and stressors.
“The thing that comes to mind is ‘marginalized exceptionalism,’” Charlie said. “I feel like I have to accurately represent Asian and queer identities. I feel like I need to be perfect.
” Charlie said they worry about falling short with properly representing the communities they’re a part of, which causes feelings of irrational guilt that are only amplified by their generalized anxiety disorder diagnosis. They recognize that anxiety has been a dark shadow that has followed them since they were a child. However, they have worked hard in both academics and their two jobs to be able to leave their small town and accomplish bigger things.
They have discovered that their ambitions may be elsewhere but their heart will stay in Sandy. “It’s growing on me. I used to really hate it,” they said.
“I felt like a tortured indie character. But now that there is this light at the end of the tunnel. I appreciate it more.
” Charlie expressed a longing to create spaces where queer minorities are welcomed and accepted. “I think it’s given me a consciousness to be less conformative. I think being aware there is more has made me passionate,” they said.
As Charlie gets older, they say they have developed a healthier mindset. Through their battle with anxiety, they have discovered an electric passion to do good in the world. “In middle school I think I felt so scared and unseen and alone,” they said.
“I don’t want anyone to feel like that.”.
