I can’t talk to strangers, and when I do? I try convince myself that they won’t judge, that if someone talked to me I wouldn’t care, I wouldn’t mind, but I know others are different. to muster up the courage to talk to someone, I have to think about all these things for probably 5 minutes. Most people at school do not know my name, simply because im scared and shy to get to know other people. in 6th grade, i was only friends with the people in my elementary school, and did not dare to make any new friends because i thought we could just stick together. oh was I wrong. everyone got new friends and did not even talk to me anymore. I was alone that whole year. I sat alone, didn’t talk to anyone in classes. anytime someone has to acknowledge me—whether by name, achievements, etc, I try to find a way to escape. because I know how awkward it will get if they do not know my name. I also don’t correct people who mispronounce my name after ive corrected them before because it feels embarrassin