You’d mistaken my anxiety-driven silence and avoidance for snobbery
I chose your school because I hoped it would be a cozy place for me to thrive. The other school I applied to hands out acceptance letters like they’re marketing samples; your school has barely 100 students. It wasn’t a hard choice for an introvert like me to choose your institution.
I started high school with the typical trepidation. I’d had my fair share of trials in elementary school — including bullying so serious I was forced to switch schools in the middle of an academic year. But as I pulled up in front of the quaint, homey building that first day, I davened I could put all that behind me. I’m going to try my best to be happy here, I promised myself.
And I did. For months, I attended school events, even though they made my stomach churn with anxiety.
Then Covid struck.
While my classmates bemoaned the resulting lack of social interaction, I was secretly thankful to be rid of all the pressure. My mushrooming anxiety was even easier to hide now that we were all sequestered.
Create a free account to keep reading.
