Personal Narrative: The All-Girl Band

I smiled as the all-girl band was playing on the stage. Neon lights illuminated their ripped t-shirts and glam make-up. Adults and teenagers made their way to the front, singing and beating their feet to the music. I fidgeted with the hem of my shirt nervously as I bobbed my head to deep bass lines. My band was next. As Vitamin A was getting towards the end of their song, the stage manager waved to us to start heading backstage. I gathered my bandmates and we followed her through the crowd. Jimmy started tapping the counter with her drumsticks while Maeve rushed to apply some last-minute eyeliner. All I did was stare at the glitter-covered ground, clutching the head of my guitar tightly. Who knew that a girl with social anxiety disorder would be singing in front of hundreds of people?

When Vitamin A finished their set, my band walked on stage. Claps and hoots roared throughout the crowd. I waved back
What got me into writing at such a young age was poetry. That was what I loved—besides reading—but words in some notebook shoved between books in my bag didn’t always save me. Due to my extensive isolationism, I developed social anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder. I still have a long way to go in terms of coping with my social anxiety, which feeds my depression—and I may live with my mental illnesses forever, but I cannot let it cripple me as it has done in the past. Of course, this is easier said than done, but I have missed so many opportunities, lost friends, and I guess practically brainwashed myself into believing that I am nothing or that no one would care if I disappeared or that what I have to say is unimportant and sometimes I ask myself “how am I still alive right now?” And the answer is that there is something in me that is fighting for me to live amongst all of