Against her better judgment, Brooke agreed to go to the craft festival with her friends, Cathy and Sam. Although she adored them and absolutely loved crafts, she was dreading it. She knew she would be shoulder to shoulder with a horde of shoppers, which would wreak havoc on her immense bubble of personal space. Every unavoidable brush against another person would substantially diminish her energy supply and she would be completely spent before they even made it half way through.
Brooke sat in the back seat of Cathy’s car with her head leaned back and her eyes closed. Not only was she trying not to have a bout with motion sickness, she was mentally preparing herself to be carefree and cheery despite her anxiety, and mutely doing some self-talk to fend off the impending exhaustion. Outings like these required psyching herself up. Both Sam and Cathy knew exactly what she was doing and allowed Brooke to have her meditation session in peace by talking quietly among themselves. She turned the same affirmations over and over again in her mind.
I will not let the crowd intimidate me. I will stand my ground and take the time I need to peruse items at a booth instead of letting someone step in front of me because they think I’m taking too long. I will not silently stew when someone abruptly stops directly in front of me in the middle of the walkway. I will not say I’m sorry and take the blame when someone runs their 3-seat wide, extra long stroller into me. I will not give in when someone walking toward me veers directly into my path and expects me to get out of their way. I’m tired of letting circumstances dictate my level of stability. I am in charge of how much I let this affect me. I will have fun and enjoy the time with my friends because I deserve it.
She felt Cathy guide the car into a parking spot and cut the engine. When Brooke opens her eyes, both girls are regarding her questioningly. With every ounce of strength she has, she picks her head up and determindly sets her jaw.
“Alright, ladies.” she says. “Let’s do this!”