Tears are blocking my sight as I’m trying not to trip over the desks on my trek towards the door. Before I reach the promised land, I overhear my teacher give a stern whisper to my classmates “Don’t tell anyone.” I appreciated the attempt, but I already knew everyone would hear the story of the girl who cried during her speech. Once I am finally alone, my mind starts pulling me in all directions—trying to soothe me, berating me for being so weak, planning my impending dropout from school. After being thoroughly suffocated by all these different thoughts, I began to regain my breath. I counted to thirty, took a gulp, rolled my shoulders back, and braced myself to rejoin the class. The clock firmly stated only seven minutes had passed since I
