Gemotions

The digital unveiling of his diary was a shock. It had been like a punch in the gut. He'd written about everything: his dreams, his fears, his first love. Now, the world knew. He felt a deep sense of shame. But then, as he read the comments, a different feeling began to surface. He imagined the other teenagers reading, feeling, seeing, and he felt a different kind of pain for them. He imagined them as lonely, young versions of himself, and felt something he couldn't quite name bubble up from his chest. He wrote, "It's rough being a teenager, huh?" and then he felt a bit of the tension in his shoulders ease.