Gemotions

The text message arrived like a punch to the gut. "Congrats! Your essay is an example!" Maya felt a sudden, sharp pain in her temples. The phone slipped from her grasp and clattered to the floor, her hands going numb.

Her breath came in shallow, rapid bursts. She felt an overwhelming sense of exposure, as though she were standing naked in a crowded room. The essay, her vulnerability, was now a commodity. She felt a deep, instinctive urge to hide.

Maya picked up the phone, her fingers fumbling with the screen. She tried to swallow, but her throat felt tight, constricted. She wanted to scream, to erase everything, to rewind time and undo her decision to apply. Instead, she just stared at the message, paralyzed by the feeling of being completely and utterly on display.