Don’t Call Me Shell-y (get it? Coming out of my shell? …I’m not quitting my dayjob.)

My biggest pet-peeve is when one of my peers steals the words right out of my mouth in class discussion. Now don’t get me wrong — I am entralled listening to the ideas others students offer up, especially if they can solidify my own thoughts on our readings. However, when I’m sitting there anxiously tongue-tied from a long lesson in French IV, the last thing I want to hear are the words ricocheting out of my brain and out of other kids’ mouths. It was like a strange, out of body experience to witness my discussion points coming out from various points in the room. I’d been preparing myself for five minutes, waiting for the relevance of conversation and perfect opportunity. It didn’t help that I had spent nearly half the night before pouring over a different story (hello, ‘Cathedral’), but I hadn’t been able to appreciate the style of Edgar Alan Poe quite as well as the other authors assigned, therefore not having an unlimited supply of things to bring up. This happens to me every year in English class and as a recurring scenario, it is time I learned that I need to act quicker in order to speak my mind.