I am someone who struggles more than I want to Admit.
Always needing help even if I don’t realize that I need it.
Always asking for help, which has made me too reliant on other people.
Making me struggle when I can’t have help or don’t want it.
Even with the struggles, I still tried to show off even if I don’t have much to show.
I have a large amount of fears.
Fears of Falling Behind.
Fears of Big Bodys of Water.
They might seem dumb.
But they have a lot of control over me.
Stopping me from doing things that I used to do.
Things I liked doing.
Things I wanted to try.
Sometimes I get over them.
But some will never leave.
I am Anthony Cardenas
I am a flower that shriveled early on.
Needing more attention to keep up with the rest of the patch.
Growing but still behind the rest of the flowers.
But even then I still manage to bloom bright and long alongside the others.
Still, even though I am slower to grow than most I am usually the biggest.
Even with my size my mind can still drift far away.
Making connections with things you wouldn’t think could even be connected.
My mind is a system of streams.
Branching off into multiple paths that intertwine and loop back or reach dead ends.
My focus is a pellet that has gotten caught in one of these streams.
Drifting further and further away from the inital thought.
Now going to wherever the water flows.
I am someone who finds joy in simple things.
A simple line like “The Tim Turtle Twins Took a Tug on Thomas’s Topknot Trim” Puts a smile on my face.
Maybe that's because it doesn't require much thought to make me smile.
And maybe it’s for the better for things to be that way
--Anthony C., 9th-12th Grade