The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond XXXIII

One day, I was hanging out with my two friends. One of them came up to me
and told me, “I heard someone say that you only cry because you want
attention…” She was part of a group at school that would spread hate and
cover up their disgusting true nature through the sweet tasks that they would
do for the teachers. I remember always fighting with people like them. I lost
my father, my loved one, and that made me an outcast.
I slowly started shutting down my emotions. I didn’t want to feel anything as
I slowly started breaking off friendships and trying to find who I was. I noticed
that I didn’t like talking to people, in general and about my father’s passing.
I spent time alone and felt happy for once.
I know this is an antagonistic thing to say, but not talking about it to friends
and teachers made me feel better. I still struggle with things like undiagnosed
mental struggles, not knowing what’s going on with me, and my identity. I try
my hardest to be happy and have fun, but sometimes it’s just hard. It’s not my
father’s passing that made me courageous, because I still have to cope with
that. The real courage here was sharing it.
THE COURAGE OF CHILDREN: BOSTON AND BEYOND
VOLUME XXXIII
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