Gemotions

Maya slammed the laptop shut, the metallic clang echoing in her tiny apartment. The air in the room felt thick, like she’d just run a marathon and forgotten to breathe. “Of course,” she muttered, her voice tight with suppressed anger, “they’d use *mine*.” A knot of unease tightened in her stomach. That essay had felt so intensely personal, a vulnerability laid bare. She wanted to scream. She had, in fact, screamed earlier into her pillow. Now, it was this throbbing tension in her jaw.

She paced across the worn linoleum, picking at a loose thread on her jeans. The essay, her soul bared, was now a public spectacle, under the glaring spotlight of a college admissions website. What had she been thinking, pouring her heart out like that? She felt utterly exposed, and now, to make matters worse, she knew all the other applicants were going to read it and judge her.