Taylor Gretz

My New World
A shy boys world falls apart when he finds out he is moving.

It took me 12 years to build my life and just one hour to tear it down. I was moving.

Now, this might not seem like a big deal, but for a kid who is shy as hell this was a huge deal- I
was terrified. I would have to find new friends and I would be going to a new school. Now, the part
that scared me the most was that I would be going to a private school, so I could learn how to read. For
some reason, I thought that only rich kids go to private schools. I was not rich- we couldn't even afford
a place to live in our new town. Now for some odd reason, I thought that all rich kids were massive
jerks. I thought that since I wasn't rich, people would make fun of me.

My first day of school was the best and the scariest day ever. This school wasn't like any other
school. This school sat down with each kid and tutored us and taught us how to read and write in a way
that we understood. This schools first day was at a ropes course. That was awesome!

Except for the fact that I didnt know anyone, let alone trust anyone. I was all alone. I would
stand all by myself in the corner watching everyone play and have fun. I felt like my world was on fire
and I was the last person on earth. This feeling was made worse when a teacher asked a kid to be my
friend.

The rest of the day I just followed him around not really talking to him. I was too scared to
make a new friend, to let someone in to help me rebuild my world. After a while, I got more
comfortable with him. I started to open up and feel safe. We started talking and becoming friends.

I was wrong- no one at this school was rich or a jerk. We all had a hard time paying for this
school. It didn't even feel like school, this wasn't a place we would go to learn and be judged for how
we cant read or write. It was a fun place, it was my second home, my new family. I realized I wasn't
alone in my burning world, that there were more like me, just like me: shy, scared, and afraid. I was
accepted. I was home. I started rebuilding my life. I was becoming human again. I started to become
less and less scared. I started to push away my anxiety and be my true self. I learned that sometimes
you need your world to fall, to be torn down, so that you can rebuild it and make it bigger and better,
make it the way you want, make it yours.