Annie (AKA Hey Terra!) has been around long enough to have experienced a lot of what Life can dish out. But, it hasn’t been so long that she's forgotten what it's like to be your age. Check out some of the thousands of email questions teens from around the world have sent to Terra. You may learn something useful from her answers:
Insecurity:
“I'm afraid people will make fun of me.”
Hey Terra,
I have a problem. Oh this is embarrassing. I want friends. I mean I have some, but I want more but the thing is I'm scared. You ask why? Well I'm afraid that they will make fun of me cuz I have a learning disability. I know I shouldn't think like that but I'm always so shy when I go to like a dance or something like that. What should I do? I need some help.LD Kid
Dear LD Kid,
You already know it's not helpful for you to assume people will "make fun of you" because of your learning disability. But "knowing it" is not the same thing as knowing how to stop doing it. If you've had some experiences with people who made insensitive comments to you then it's natural that you'd be scared that it will happen again. Before I give you some advice, I need some more information about your situation. In what ways does your learning disability interfere with the way you get along with people? Because that's the important part of making new friends. You say you already have some friends (that's great!). How'd you meet them and become friends? Did you not have a learning disability when you met them?
Please think about it and write back.
In friendship,
Terra
Need some advice? Write to Terra.
She'll give you a straight answer you can trust without any lectures.
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