Chapter 6: Home Pressure
200 Words
School didn’t end when I left campus.
It followed me home.
Every evening when I picked up my phone, I already knew what I would hear if I called.
“Have you eaten?”
“Yes.”
“Are you reading?”
“Yes.”
“School is not easy o, just try your best.”
And I would end the call the same way every time—calm voice, controlled tone, no sign of struggle.
But after the call, silence would feel heavier.
Because I knew I wasn’t really fine.
One night, I sat on my bed with my notebook open but not reading.
My mind was somewhere else.
I was thinking about how people expected results from me, but no one saw the confusion behind the scenes.
I had lectures I didn’t fully understand.
Assignments I hadn’t properly started.
And pressure from home that made me feel like I was supposed to already have everything figured out.
That night, I whispered to myself:
“I can’t even explain what I’m going through.”
And that was the problem.
Not that I was failing.
But that I didn’t know how to explain the struggle.
So I carried it alone.
- Writer
