Miracle Workers

Labor day is meant for people to rest and spend time with their family. My labor day consisted of me working on the thing I truly love --writing. Finally, I replenished my submissions with a poetry chapbook and past site that rejected me with secondary rejections.
One site, Literary Orphans, has me stumped. They are offering submissions for their superhero issue. I remember being little hoping for a hero --a boy to save me, a wizard to take me around the world, and a woman flying round the city. I realized not too long ago that heros really do exist but not in masks or capes but on Instagram and math class.
Milk Tyson, of Instagram and twitter, is a real world hero. He offers help to those suffering of anxiety because he himself suffered with it. He hands out his email for people to tell him their story. I would know because I recently had to approach him. My anxiety is getting out of hand as I was too anxious to open my love's door. I stood outside staring at the very knob I turned hundreds of times before but instead, I was stuck. Contemplating the difficultly of turning around versus opening the door really opened my to the severity of my anxiety. Simply talking to him gives me a sense of ease --this isn't going to last forever.
But he lives in California and it's hard to get a high-five for doing something bold, like teaching a spanish class, across states. My personal hero, the one who rescued me, is in fact my boyfriend. I hate dedicating anything to him because I have to admit how much he means to me but really, he's worth the dedication. He encourages my writing as he reads every poem I ask him to even though college football  is on and UCLA is playing. He doesn't understand anxiety as much as I wish he did which is why he gets frustrated when I stop dead in my tracks as he tries to introduce me to even more friends. But he does hold my sweat-dripping hand before I go up to read poems and that's enough understandment for me.
One day, I wish someone would look at me as a hero. Despite my anxiety, I still write pages upon pages of poetry to submit to magazines. I still talk to workshop leaders trying to push my career further. I want to better myself so I suck up my fear of public speaking by chugging another gulp of coffee. By the time I swallow, it will be too late to turn around. As scared as I am of people, I still love volunteering and that's exactly what I do. I help people who can't help themselves because I guess I relate to them. A smile on someone else's face makes one come over mine.
So even though I panic at the thought of shaking hands with someone, I try to help myself by helping others. Maybe soon enough, I'll be able to help myself.

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