“Anxiety”
Rhyan Murphy
Test after test
Project after project
“Wow, how do you not know that?”
“You must be stupid
“I’d insult you, but the word I want to use is probably too fancy for you”
Pretentious comment after the next
You laugh and pretend to brush it off
But inside you’re telling your telling yourself
“Stupid”
“Stupid”
“Stupid”
And giving your opinion in class feels like a test for intelligence
As your class mates mock you
And everything you say feels “dumb”
If only they could see how hard you try
That you’re not just “lazy”
And how decent your grade s actually are
And that you’d wish they’d realize that your intelligence in school
Does not determine your intelligence all around
But what else can you do but tell yourself “they’re wrong”?
Because in the end, that’s what they are, right?
Are they…?
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