That's Why You Did It. You Wanted

I Didn't Humiliate Him By Pointing It Out Because That's Not How You Treat Friends. You Don't Judge Them. You Don't Humiliate Them. I Bet He's Been Judging Me All Along.

A Lot Of Authors See Their Book Being Banned Or Challenged As A Badge Of Honor. But For Me, It's Nothing But Frustrating And Upsetting. I Hear From Readers That My Work Encouraged Them To Ask For Help Or Reach Out To Someone About The Situation They're In. When You Hear Stories Like That On A Daily Basis And Then Hear Adults Call For Your Work To Be Banned, It's Proof Of Why The Stigma Around These Issues Is So Dangerous.

I Sat. And I Thought. And The More I Thought, Connecting The Events In My Life, The More My Heart Collapsed.

And In High School, People Are Always Watching So There's Always A Reason To Pose.

And As I Stood There In The Hallway―alone―trying To Understand What Had Just Happened And Why, I Realized The Truth: I Wasn't Worth An Explanation―not Even A Reaction. Not In Your Eyes.