Family Etiquette: A Short Story

In seventh grade, my teacher called on me to solve the math problem on the board. I felt all eyes on me like lions watching their prey. I imagined the look of judgment my aunt would give me at family gatherings if I broke family etiquette. My teacher’s eyes were the bright blue of the sea, yet they were directly staring at me waiting for an answer to come out of my mouth. He looked at me as if he knew all my secrets and my goals in life, but my palms began to shake and sweat, and my legs bounced up and down. I didn’t know the answer or I just didn’t want to say it, and my anxiety took away my ability to think on my feet, so I just stood there silent for an awkward moment. I knew he had given up on me when he said, “We’ll come back to you.” I just wanted him to move on and focus on another person. I felt like all my secrets were known by others just as they looked at me. Once he said that I could feel all eyes on me still until he decided to pick someone else. I felt as if a tight string was released from my finger, allowing the blood to circulate to the rest of my body. My heart was still pounding

It didn’t hurt me in anyway, yet that’s what I got myself to think. Ever since I learned to cope with my fear of being in AP English I was also able to cope with my fear of public speaking. I was way more comfortable with myself, and I was slowly getting more and more confident with myself. I use my confidence to be able to get out there more and to be able to do things I’ve never thought of doing. Service hours was something I started to do, and being able to help the community is what I loved. Getting involved more made me realize that I have a voice and I could be able to use it to express myself, my thoughts, and ideas. I took this fear and went beyond than what I used to be capable of doing. Now I’m proud that I will be joining the Spanish Honors Society at Mather. Getting out there more is what I have been proud of