Rejected for Who She Was
"It was an object that was hated for being who he is. In the 1980s I felt empathy for him; he can't help where he was built," Erika said. "They focused their hatred on the wall, rather than the politics behind it. I felt like I was suffering in the same way. I went through a lot of rejection when I was younger because of my orientation."
Starting Fresh
After her breakup, Erika felt like anyone else who had just left a relationship—heartbroken. Soon afterward, Erika began working as a crane operator. Hundreds of feet above the ground, she slowly began to fall in love with her crane. "It took me a very long time to accept that maybe it's OK to start another relationship," she said, believing she'd never love again.
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