A New Year

There was courage in the air as students reluctantly dragged themselves to the bowl. In the daisy filled field, it was as if a sea of boys and girls, harboring luxurious clothing and fancy trinkets which slowly washed into the seats. By this time, my heart pounded as I looked out onto the vast sea of familiar faces, homogenous with unacquainted individuals who had already placed themselves within their own cliques. For this reason, those separated from the masses who desperately wanted to maintain their social status, despite the disconnected status between the old and the new, played with the idea of getting to know each other, but then resorted back to their temporary relationships. And I was fragmented from this, because I was disillusioned from the crowd due to my fortified position off to the side, this enabled me to be physically and emotionally separated from the crowd, which caused my hands to sweat, and eyes to flutter as they had no concrete destination to rest upon.

At the time, every factor of this all school gathering contributed to the ostracized feeling that lingered inside of me since my arrival. In the moments I stood singular and secluded from everyone, with nothing but the echoless outdoors which surrounded me, I was alone.

At least a few dozen people stared blankly at me as I was the only student awkwardly standing off to the side. From the moment everyone sat down, it was clear that I was not to join them from the beginning. People’s minds spun as they were puzzled by my unusual presence in such an orderly setting. 

By the time people had figured it out, I was already walking up to the stage. It’s clear to everyone that I have waited for this moment, as every living cell making up my body rises in temperature in anticipation. Like a sloth I place the crisp piece of paper onto the podium, take a deep breath and begin to read.

Every word I say feels lighter than the last, and it is evident that I put hours of practice into my piece. My language becomes smoother as I look up, gently brushing my vision across the crowd, only to deliver line after line with ease. The faces in the crowd become brighter than before, as students let go of their previous thoughts shared with their friends, only to replace them with words that I send directly into their minds. 

Suddenly, the moment that seemed to be so far away, began to fade away in front of my eyes, remaining only as a memory. My vision jolts to the back of the crowd, revealing my scruffy brother holding his phone up to me as if I were the president giving an impassioned speech. In the final seconds where I step down, and begin my journey to the back of the crowd, pressure releases off of me, and it is evident that the year has begun.