The writing titled “The Anxiety I Carry,” written by Amy, talks about  their experience with social anxiety. Her writing left me sympathizing their work because I also experience anxiety in public. Social anxiety is a big issue for me, and when they said, “When I’m with my friends and family, I’m loud, animated, talkative to the point of annoyance,” it left me with a wave of reassurance reminding me that I am not alone with my struggles. I am very outgoing with the people that I always surround myself with, but having to talk to people out of my comfort zone makes me mute and tense up. The selection is written very well because the experiences are described in detail and I can feel as though the writing is about myself. I continuously try to improve myself and not get so anxious in public, so when the author wrote, “I’m still a small, anxious mess if there ever was one, but I’m an improving anxious mess, and that’s what matters,” it increased my confidence in myself, and shows that the smallest improvements count, even if it’s just smiling at a stranger.