Johns Hopkins University

I remember being surprised at how weak my arm felt, as if I was holding a dumbbell instead of a microphone. Standing in front of my high school classmates at our weekly Monday Meeting, I could feel my heartbeat in my ears as I studied the small silver handle below the microphone and momentarily wished I was small enough to fit into one of them and disappear. I looked down at the sheet listing all the History month facts I had prepared and began to read. It wasn’t until I felt someone come up next to me and gently push the microphone closer to my face that I realized that no one could hear me.…