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Andrew Gibbs Mr. Neuburger Eng. Comp. 101-137 28 September 2011 Descriptive Essay Travis Ive always felt a little abnormal. Most of my family members have a psychiatrist on call so how normal could I possibly be. Im still young and believe it or not I am still impressionable. Im at the point in my life where social status is everything. I know that popularity wont get you far in life, but as of now its pretty damn important. I dont want to say that its all I think about because that will make me sound like a loser but, it definitely crosses my mind every now and again. I keep picturing a crowd of kids chanting my name like I am some kind of rock star. Every time I am standing on a stage in front of them talking about how the sky is the limit and that no matter what they are going through they are not alone. I guess it could mean that my main goal in life is to help people. Maybe I should be a therapist or a motivational speaker. Better yet, maybe I should be a doctor or a teacher. I could possibly just need to be someone that changes something. But, I wouldnt count on any of this to actually be true. My mind skips around too much to think of anything as a rational thought. Sometimes, I even worry about rising gas prices. I cant take any of my thoughts seriously. I use to have a few problems in school. My mother described it as me getting into little scrapes which is the best euphemism for getting the living shit kicked out of you I have ever heard. At least once a week I would feel knuckles make an indention into my stomach. The weird thing is that I didnt really mind. Maybe it wasnt the best feeling in the world, but at least

Gibbs 2 I was being noticed. I know its pathetic to feel that way but I hated blending in. I felt like a white snow hare in a blizzard when I was at school. No one ever acknowledged my existence, unless it was in the classroom, and they needed someone to save their ass on a pop quiz. Then, I became everybodys best friend. But, the fact of the matter is no one wants to talk to the braniac until they need his or her help. And that fact sucks. I never thought I would make a legitimate friend. Then I met Travis. Travis was what you call a complete loser. He had a better relationship with Ms. Pac man then he did with any human female on the planet. He was noticeably shy and had extreme social anxiety. His hair was matted and greasy, and his style died with the nineties. His locker was a few lockers away from mine, and he always seemed to mind his own business. He never really tried to engage anyone in conversation. Well, until the day he talked to me. One day after getting stuff out of my locker I saw him staring at me. I smiled slightly and said, Hello, My Name is Andrew Gibbs. He just stood there glaring at me. Finally, I saw his mouth start to widen and a single word came out. That word was, Hey. Then he turned around and walked away. For the next week and a half I would engage him in conversation and would keep getting short worded replies. After a few weeks of trying to get him to loosen up it finally happened. Travis finally approached me. Youre pretty smart right? he shyly said while staring at the ground. I answered with, I guess so, and then he asked if we could speak in private. We went into the disgusting boys restroom in that hallway. He explained that he needed someone to talk to but didnt feel comfortable talking with his parents. He asked if he could talk to me about his issues. Sure, I said, but remember that Im not a doctor. Im the same age as you. So dont take all of my advice to heart. I probably wont know what I am talking about. He smiled and started talking about how he had been feeling completely depressed. He had been having pain and

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troubled breathing in the middle of class and described it as feeling like a heart attack. I told him that I wasnt sure what was going on but that I would find out and help him. I wrote down his address and told him that I would research his symptoms and come over that night to discuss it with him. He fully grinned and quickly shuffled out of the bathroom. I spent the rest of the day vigorously looking up what he had described to me, trying to find an explanation to his problems. After school, I rode my bike over to his house to discuss my findings. His house was pretty nice, nicer than most on the street. When I rang the doorbell I heard multiple animals annoyingly yapping throughout the house. After a few seconds, Travis opened the door and let me in. His house made me think of what I imagined a Febreeze commercial smelt like. We went directly to his room and shut the door. He showed me some of his things, including his canine companion named Kip. Then we sat down to talk about what I had figured out. Well I found out that what you are feeling is a panic attack. The thing is that out of everything that I read this afternoon I didnt find one case of someone dying from a panic attack, I stated to him. He smiled and sighed with relief. So Ill be okay? he asked. Youll be just fine, I chuckled, just remember next time that this happens that you will be okay in a few seconds and take a deep breath. Afterwards he said thanks and we played some games. He was substantially better than me at everything we played. I left that night feeling pretty good about myself for the first time in my life. I had finally helped someone and made a friend out of it and I was pretty happy about that thought. Maybe Travis wasnt an entire crowd of screaming people but that doesnt make him any less important. I had to get my start somewhere and am glad my first patient was Travis. I still think about crowds of kids screaming my name and I still want to feel that feeling of being

Gibbs 4 on stage in front of them, telling them that they shouldnt let one thing get them down. I also still think about rising gas prices though. Like I said before, Im a little abnormal.