Why does my voice shake when i speak up?
Friday, 10:02 a.m. I’m in a meeting room that smells like whiteboard ink and stale croissants. My manager says, “Tell everyone about the new project.”...
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Friday, 10:02 a.m. I’m in a meeting room that smells like whiteboard ink and stale croissants. My manager says, “Tell everyone about the new project.”...
Read moreI’m waiting outside a friend-of-a-friend’s birthday drinks, staring at the bar door like it just asked for my PIN. Palms sweaty, heart bouncing. Class...
Read moreTwo weeks ago I was in line for coffee, headset in, playlist on. I spotted a friend across the room, waved, and - nothing. My brain: “Cool, you’re off...
Read moreLast month I pitched a project to a boardroom full of people in very sharp blazers. Half-way through slide three I heard myself hit a note that only s...
Read moreLast Saturday I ducked into a new café because my friend Maya swore the croissants were “life-changing”. Croissant: 10/10. Sound level: an assault. Ma...
Read moreFriday night, my more-extroverted buddy parks me in a loud bar and vanishes toward the dance floor. I’m left hugging a half-warm cider, considering an...
Read moreYesterday on the bus I watched two strangers strike up small talk about the weather. Same topic, same bland sentences, yet one guy had half the aisle ...
Read more## so, do affirmations even count if your inner critic is yelling “liar”?...
Read moreI’m 27, sitting in my kitchen, watching my phone buzz like it’s a live grenade. It’s my bank. Probably just “confirming unusual activity,” but the pit...
Read moreIt’s 11:42 pm, my room glows blue, and I’m staring at the “Join group” button in a Facebook sidebar. I want help for my social anxiety, but the idea o...
Read moreLast week I was at a friend’s rooftop thing. Someone asked me about my new job, and I went off - timeline, vision, side quests, the whole saga. Ten mi...
Read moreMy phone buzzes under the table right as Josh yells, “Yo, library-voice, speak up!” The laugh track from the rest of the group lands on me before I ev...
Read moreMonday morning. Zoom opens, twenty names load, nineteen cameras stay dark. For a second I feel safe. No one can clock the nervous tapping, the face th...
Read moreYesterday I left my reusable cup at home and walked to work empty-handed. Same street, same people, but suddenly my shoulders crept up and my thoughts...
Read moreTuesday, 6:58 p.m. I’m outside a tiny coffee place, scrolling the same three apps, pretending I’m not about to meet someone cute. My pulse is throwing...
Read moreI’m at my friend Laura’s birthday, standing by the snack table, spiraling about whether to say “Hey, I’m Sam, I love that band too” or just pretend I’...
Read moreLast week I was in line at the coffee shop, convinced the guy behind me was reading every typo on my phone screen. I felt heat on the back of my neck,...
Read more## what failure feels like when all eyes lock on you ...
Read moreI’m queuing for an iced latte, staring a hole through the pastries so I don’t accidentally lock eyes with the barista. My brain whispers the usual: “I...
Read moreYesterday I almost bailed on grabbing an iced latte because my hoodie was covered in cat hair. My brain coughed up a whole cinema of strangers whisper...
Read more## the weird body-language glitch nobody flagged in school...
Read moreIt’s 4:27 p.m. and I’m hiding in the bathroom at a research symposium, clutching my laptop like it’s emotional support hardware. Ten minutes until my ...
Read moreMy lungs always forget how to breathe right when the host calls my name. Last month I was backstage at a tech meetup clutching a clicker like it was a...
Read morePicture a weekly stand-up. Your heart is playing ping-pong in your chest. The spotlight hits you, because you led last week’s project. Right when you’...
Read moreI’m in the elevator, five floors away from pitching my idea to the senior team. My hands are doing their best waterfall impression, my brain’s hosting...
Read more## why that two-second stare feels like an interrogation lamp ...
Read moreI’m wedged between the snack table and a very chatty cousin at a friend’s wedding. My pulse is sprinting, palms slick, and the DJ is playing the longe...
Read moreI once did a spectacular banana-peel-style slip outside a coffee shop. Latte everywhere, one shoe off, my tote bag upside-down. I froze, waiting for t...
Read more## intro: the flashing cursor and the mini panic attack...
Read more## intro – the moment your throat turns into a trampoline ...
Read moreYesterday on the train a kid waved at me for no reason. I grinned back, mask on, so only my eyes were visible. He kept waving. The guy next to him joi...
Read moreLast winter I was wedged into the 07:42 to Paddington, pretending my podcast wasn’t buffering. A woman started telling a story about her dog escaping ...
Read moreI used to blame my fidget-fest at parties on shyness. Then I clocked the pattern: triple-shot latte at 4 p.m. → sweaty palms at 7 p.m. → bailing by 8 ...
Read moreIt’s 11:42 pm, the cursor blinks like it’s judging me, and my chest is doing that hummingbird thing. All I want is a short “hi, I’m Jamie” email that ...
Read more## i’m in line for coffee, again, questioning my entire existence ...
Read moreI once spent an entire birthday party hiding in the hallway, pretending to reply to texts that weren’t there. The living-room chatter sounded like ano...
Read moreTuesday afternoon. My palms are doing that sweaty‐but‐also‐cold thing they reserve for group projects and dental check-ups. I’m fourth in line at the ...
Read moreI stared at my phone on the metro, thumbs sweating. My friend Alex had replied “fine.” after I’d cancelled dinner. One word, one full stop - my brain ...
Read moreI’m standing in the queue at the pharmacy, fake-reading the back of a shampoo bottle because my heart is trying out for a drum ’n’ bass gig. My phone ...
Read moreThe phone lights up. Friday night plans, nine people, three different venues. My stomach does that roller-coaster dip and my brain starts writing fan-...
Read more## let’s acknowledge the elephant in the group chat ...
Read moreLast Thursday I made the classic move: I walked into my friend’s living-room, tripped over the tiny step no one ever sees, and announced, “Good news, ...
Read moreI’m in a cramped bathroom line at a friend’s wedding. Four people ahead of me, three of them scrolling TikTok, one clutching her drink like a life-raf...
Read moreSo I’m standing at the back of a packed meetup, cold coffee in one hand, phone in the other. First speaker steps up. His voice skates from low and war...
Read moreCall it a Wednesday thing: my phone buzzed with a message - “We’re hiring freelance writers, want to apply?” Easy gig, decent pay, remote. I stared at...
Read more*The elevator doors slide shut and it’s just me, my sweaty palms, and a vague reflection in metal walls. I’m heading up to a job interview, running th...
Read moreI used to glue my elbows to my ribs at parties. Safer that way, right? Less real estate for judgment. One night a friend leaned in and whispered, “Dud...
Read moreI’m hunched over my desk wearing a plastic headset that makes me look like a bug. In the mirror I’m a mess; in VRChat I’m a seven-foot neon fox with f...
Read moreTuesday, 7:52 a.m. I’m half-dressed, hunting for socks, and anxious thoughts are already hosting a rave in my skull. I grab a notebook to dump the noi...
Read moreLast month I was crammed in the back of an Uber with my cousin, Maya. We were on the way to a friend’s birthday. Thirty minutes earlier she’d been fin...
Read more## intro: a chatty coffee line and a nagging question ...
Read moreYesterday I was trying to read in a café while a guy two tables over was giving his entire fantasy-football rundown at top volume. I knew I should say...
Read moreI’m flat on my back at 2:37 a.m., watching the red glow of my alarm clock like it’s the scoreboard of a game I’m losing. The presentation I have to gi...
Read more## the cold open: laptop fans, sweaty palms, fifteen little squares ...
Read moreMy palms were sweaty, knees weak - yeah, the Eminem line hits different when it’s your own body glitching. Ten minutes before my first poetry open-mic...
Read moreYou know that slow-motion feeling when you’re stuck in a dentist’s waiting room and the ticking clock feels like it’s trolling you? ...
Read moreLast Friday night I’m in the supermarket, shuffling toward the freezer, when it hits me: every shopper, every security camera, even the automatic door...
Read moreI’m in line at a coffee shop. One machine is busted, the barista is sweating, and five of us are just… standing there. Nobody talks. I can feel my pul...
Read more## the moment you realise the conversation is dying ...
Read moreFour hours before my sister’s wedding I was hiding in a hotel bathroom, tie half-done, reciting the best-man speech to my own reflection. Steam from a...
Read moreI’m on the subway at 7:42 a.m. A guy in a hoodie glances up, then looks straight through me with that totally blank “commuter face.” My brain whispers...
Read moreI was halfway through a first date when the café playlist glitched and fell quiet. For two whole seconds I felt fine. Then my brain went, “no music, n...
Read moreI’m wedged between the coat rack and the punch bowl at my aunt’s place, pretending to study the wallpaper while an uncle I barely know explains crypto...
Read moreI’m staring at the webcam, waiting for the meeting to start, and I can feel my voice turning into elevator music before I’ve even opened my mouth. I k...
Read moreYesterday morning I was in the queue at Pret, headphones on, half awake. The barista called “Olivia?” I’m clearly not Olivia, so I scrunched my brows ...
Read moreYou’re half-way into getting dressed, Spotify is DJing, and then… boom. A cramp, a twist, a little nausea encore. Your brain shouts “we’re only going ...
Read moreI’m hunched over my phone in the checkout line at Target, hoodie half-zipped, hoping the world forgets I exist. I catch my reflection in the freezer d...
Read more## intro: a party, a fridge, and that one guy who never shuts up...
Read more## the moment the playlist kicks in and your brain hits 1.5x speed ...
Read moreI’m leaning against the kitchen counter at a friend-of-a-friend’s birthday. Solo cup, stiff smile, zero plan. Eight people volley jokes about fantasy ...
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