My Experience With Anxiety-Personal Narrative

159. That was the number of times I had pulled back on the shiny metal handle, opening the rotting wood door. I shuffled from the freshly waxed linoleum tile hallway, through the doorway, and into the chorus room. My stomach plummeted, just as it did the 158 other times that I had walked into the room. I looked for a way out of it? I thought to myself, My stomach hurts, should I go to the nurse? This was a thought that occured to me on a daily basis, of course my stomach ache being as a result of the severe anxiety. I decided to stay in class in hopes that maybe that day would finally be the day the anxiety dissipates. I began my rituals of attempting to calm myself down. It began with taking deep relaxation breaths. The problem was these were not relaxation and did not help dissipate the anxiety as my guidance counselor, parents, and even therapist had told me it would. This wasn’t a surprise to me, however. It was like this since it happened. Then I started snapping. I do not think the teacher liked this very much, but she did not call me on it because I think she could tell, after watching me walk into her room on a daily basis with a tormented look on my face, that I was suffering greatly. The final step of my so-called relaxation process was trying to distract myself. I often thought about sports. I

It was at that moment that I became critically literate, meaning I was able to analyze a text and take the knowledge or feelings I gained from the text and apply them to my own life. Prior to that moment, I was functionally literate, meaning I could just read. It was a moment that I’ll never forget. It turned me into a prolific reader, in hopes of gather messages that I could use one day if I encounter more hardship. I spent the whole following summer reading tons of books. It is a practice that continues to this