Face your fears.

The image of a crying Vivian is burned into your mind. Why did it make such an impact on you? You barely know her. You’ve never spoken to her. Even so, you feel like you want to help her. And to do that, you need to go inside your dreams.

You push through and open the door.

Once inside, you see a distant yet familiar sight.

It’s your high school. More specifically, the cafeteria. You are sitting alone in one of the tables, as always. No one eats with you. No one talks to you.

As you stare at the tray full of food in front of you, you begin to feel things you hadn’t mere moments ago.

Nervousness, anxiety, fear, sadness, frustration, loneliness and even anger.

As the dream goes on, you relieve the worst experiences from high school. Bullying, humiliation, dejection, failure.

You see the girl you had a crush on making out with her boyfriend. They both look at you directly and laugh in your face.

You see the group of popular girls in front of you. They’re mocking you for your appearance, your bearing, your lack of athletic skill, your lack of social skills. Everyone around hearing just laughs.

A group of bullies is surrounding you, as they take turns beating you. It seems you didn’t finish their homework in time.

One of your teachers is scolding you because your grades dropped. He goes on and on about how you should be responsible and not waste your time on mindless activities or whatever it is you do on your free time. He doesn’t care about the patch on your cheek, covering a very recent bruise.

You see yourself snapping at the taunts of another student. You jump at him and hit him. He wins the fight, though. He’s stronger than you. You get suspended for attacking a fellow student. The other guy gets away scot-free.

In the back of your mind, you know that some of these events are being exaggerated, yet they feel exactly as you remember. You feel the negative emotions building up. This was your high school experience. A time of your life that shaped you to be the person you are now.

Everything begins to slowly fade away. The school disappears from your sight.