I have always liked learning, but school had challenges that I didn’t expect. It was scary. How I was
feeling, it was hard to put into words when I was a little girl. Walking down crowded hallways, raising my hand to ask the teacher a question, volunteering to do something I really wanted to do, and group projects scared me. I did not look forward to recess and lunch. Asking to play with my classmates and talking to them loud and clear enough to understand me was always challenging. I wondered, “ Do they like me? Are we friends? Am I saying the right things?” Not being able to talk about it made me feel different from everyone else. All of this made school overwhelming. It made me want to curl into a ball and try everything I can to block out the overwhelming experiences.
This picture is the anxiety it felt when going to school. It’s trying to break out of my shell but was too scared. I wanted to share this to give hope to others who experienced social anxiety and are having a hard time returning back to school. It’s hard, but in time, if you challenge yourself enough and be persistent, you can break out of that shell and realize people love you just the way you are.
