Isolation: A Short Story

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While the students chattered and the clocked ticked mercilessly, I assessed the situation. (I don’t think the brushstroke worked here, good try though). Shamefully peering at my amiable friends who were flamboyantly talking about endless gossip, pretty boys and snakes, I searched far and wide—my thoughts blank— like a voyager in the midst of an ocean, looking for anything, something to contribute to the conversation at hand. I had nothing, nothing to grasp to prevent my inevitable fall into the usual depths of isolation and solitude. So I remained silent, using my phone, as a mediocre distraction that I had something to do. This was what a typical day with my friends were like. I have always hated social interactions. Just the mere thought of making a conversation, not knowing what to say has always deterred me from transforming into a social butterfly. I was confined in my own cocoon of self doubt and low self esteem. I often pondered on how I even made friends in school. Why would anyone bother with a person who was so uninteresting and dull? At times, I compared myself to the creature in “Frankenstein,” while I had some friends, …show more content…

It couldn’t have just sprung up. It needed a foundation, soil, and all other life necessities such as water and sunlight to grow within me. It took me a long time to come to realize that my family was the root of my problem. Coming from a traditional, overprotective, and strict family was my foundation. My parents who were constantly gone from work became the soil, providing quintessential nutrients such as detachment and loneliness. Lastly, the most important was the daily water and sunlight I received from my dad’s raging temper and the constant rain of remarks about school, grades, and family honor. Thus, the vines of my social limits winded and twisted itself around my soul, keeping me bounded from reaching my goal: to socialize

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