Young Writers Day: Fragile Minds and the Adults That Mold Them

We had a substitute teacher. We had her before and she was a fine substitute for

study hall or a class where you had to pop a movie in and sit back.

She was more like a babysitter - last call if nobody else was available.

Which was fine.

Normally- we looked forward to a movie day but today we did not want to watch

a movie.

We were so excited!

We wanted to talk about who was coming in to see our books- what we wrote about- what

it looked like- what color of paper we used and what image we chose for our cover.

You know- the important things...

But then...

She started bawling.

I was shocked!

She left the room and we just stood there - looking around at each other not sure what

to do. A few seconds went by, and everyone started talking again. I looked at them and quietly- but sharply said- "guys- just shh."

This was serious.

I felt it.

I was nervous.

The ants were back under my skin. I noticed part of the skin on my wrist was turning red.

The burning feeling started to build and then it started to itch like crazy.

The next moment was terrible.

The next moment of my life took away so much of who I was for so long.

This one moment changed everything.