Me

I am Anthony Cardenas

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