When you walk by a person you think is your friend but isn’t, you have an inner conflict about whether you should say hi to this person. That sentence makes no sense, but let me explain the feeling. The whole year, you make friends with this random person like Bill, let’s say. You and Bill spend the entire class talking but pretend not to know each other out of class. That is how your life works. And at the end of the year, you never speak during summer. You don’t even remember summer. That was the agreement; we only talked in class. Then the pain comes in. You return from school and walk into the halls, hoping not to see that person. Or then you will go to war against yourself. Yes, it is a war against yourself, one side with the Maxim machine gun to convince you to say hi, and the other in the trenches getting trench foot trying to keep your shy self. This conflict is a lose-lose, so you should try to avoid it. But then the “worst” happens. You walk to your 3rd-period class and realize, Bill. Not only do you see him. Not only is he walking to you. You recognize he will walk this way til 2045 August 18, the suspected day of his death. You go to raise your hand, but from the trenches, a grenade is thrown, reminding you of last year. For context, last year, you didn’t sleep that well. Then, a missile is sent from the trenches, reminding you that your breath smells today. The trenches win, and you walk by. Then your worries disappear until the next day. You try to walk faster, and you meet him faster. Maybe you can take a different route, but maybe Bill will know I am avoiding him. What if Bill knew about my inner conflict and hated me now? What if Bill is scared to say hi to me because he is scared that I can read his thoughts right now? Am I a dinosaur? It’s fine. You will just deal with it for the entire year. Every day, a battle ensues. The only time of peace is when Bill is sick. You don’t wish for Bill’s downfall, but you love it when Bill is sick. But soon, the trenches ran out of ammunition. The rations have gotten small. The insults have gotten stale. And the army pushes in with the most potent weapon, “Our Greatest Weakness Lies in Giving Up,” thanks to Thomas Edison. It’s the third week of school, and you get another chance to say hi to Bill. He probably doesn’t remember you anymore. But it doesn’t matter as your mouth opens. Operation be human. You raise your hand and say hey, Bill (using hey for statistically being more cool, masculine, and unique, as proven by studies). You wait, but he doesn’t answer. You put your hand down, and you walk to your class. Outside, you look fine, but inside your brain, the army won against the trenches. They thought they were victorious, but they misunderstood their battle. Their fight was against themselves, a civil war, while the real enemy has grown in strength and will attack the weakened state. The enemy of shame has one.

Did you feel seen reading this? This is proof everyone is the same.