By Zoe Moga, TIWP Student

I think most of us love to ignore what we feel or what we want. I find that I often ignore what I need most. I try to listen to everything my mind, body and soul tell me, but it’s hard when everything around me is consuming the air. I try so hard to focus but I can’t do it when other people need me. Instead, I ignore. But that little voice inside me continues to stand strong. Despite everything that knocks me down, pieces of me continue to try to help me. Still, I ignore that voice and those pieces. It hurts to not listen. Sometimes it hurts more to hear the stuff I try to ignore. So maybe all those noises—all the things that grab my attention, that make me worried and nervous and horrified of the world around me—are a coping mechanism. Maybe it’s me trying to hide from something I’m afraid of. Or maybe it’s a real issue I’m trying to ignore. I don’t know what it is, but it’s real. More real than even I know.