*Inspired by Sherman Alexie's Superman and Me

This might be a questionable story all by itself. A child who is starting his life in the world of education. However, he is not one to be able to talk amongst a group of people. He is not able to hang out with people for long periods of time. He is not able to go to big meetings, or even be able to sit in a room with most of the school. He is an outsider, a person who could not stand being by people, as he had no choice. He would always feel sick, and music by Maroon 5 and Sam Smith wouldn’t be able to fix those feelings. He would rather become a recluse. He wasn’t expected to do well in school because of these problems. He had anxiety of the highest caliber combined with other problems to affect his learning. Now he talks about himself in the third person, if only to reflect on the decisions that have gotten him here today.

They never believed that I would do well in school, the way I was barely able to handle any social interaction. They tried to put me into a special learning class that would have dampened learning even further. They wanted nothing more than to get rid of the “mute” kid in the classroom. They believed that I was wrong in the head, and never thought to ask who I was. They always found my uncomfortableness funny. They thought I was a kid that was weak, not meant to be in any space next to them. They made me seem like I was a lost cause in the educational world.

But I was there to prove them wrong. I proved to them through my grades that I was just as intelligent as they were. I proved that I could be a nice person to be around if you were willing to try. I proved that I had no mental deficiencies. I proved I could carry my own, that I did not need any mental help. I did not need a special class with less learning. I did not need a theoretical crutch on which my brain could hobble. I found the strength to be able to speak my mind. I found the ability to carry on a conversation. I found the urge to become a memory in other people’s minds. I wanted to stand out in the minds that had berated me with the ideology, that I couldn’t. I was there to make a point. I was there to change their minds. I was there to prove them wrong.