Anxiety

The world is confusing.

If a person were to have a physical disability, a teacher would acknowledge it.

They won't be marked for their tardiness.

They would be helped.

But what about mental disorders?

Teachers say that they are helping us.

They say it is to prepare us for our futures:

College and beyond.

They force us to get up and do presentations in front of large crowds.

My social anxiety cannot stand that.

They say it is just nervousness, butterflies, or jitters.

They say that we'll get over it.

But, it isn't the same.

The sight of large crowds makes my breathing become uneven and shallow,

Makes my heart pound loudly in my chest.

It makes me want to run out and never return.

It was as if I was claustrophobic and someone shoved me into a dark, tiny closet.

It is a form of torture and cruelty that is never acknowledged.

Teachers don't mean any harm,

But they do the damage without knowing it.