The Confident Or Shyness Trick.

The Confident Or Shyness Trick.
Cory Sefton Marsh was a quiet, introspective teenager. His mind was always buzzing with thoughts, but they seldom found their way into spoken words. In school, he was often the target of bullies who saw his shyness as an easy weakness to exploit. He endured their taunts and physical harassment with a stoic silence, focusing his energy on his studies. Cory was determined to build a future for himself, one where his qualifications and skills would speak louder than his reticence.

His academic journey was marked by perseverance. Cory graduated high school with top grades, securing a place at a reputable university. There, he studied computer science, immersing himself in the world of databases and programming. The social struggles of his past followed him, but Cory remained resolute. He believed that his hard-earned degree would open doors to a promising career.

University proved no easier socially. Group projects left him sidelined, and presentations were a nightmare. Yet, he pushed through, graduating with honors. With his degree in hand, Cory ventured into the job market, hopeful for a fresh start where his skills would be valued. He sent out dozens of applications, each meticulously crafted. Weeks turned into months, and the rejection emails piled up.

The responses were varied but echoed a common theme: Cory was deemed too shy to fit in. It didn’t matter how proficient he was with databases or how well he could code; his reserved nature was a deal-breaker. Some companies didn't bother with politeness. Once, after applying for the same position ten times at a tech firm, he received a curt reply: “Stop applying. You’re too quiet and weird for our team.” Another time, he was told point-blank in an interview for a computing job at a college, “You’re too shy. You wouldn’t fit in here.”

Desperate, Cory turned to employment agencies. Instead of helping him find a job, they sent him on assertiveness training courses. These sessions were humiliating. He was told repeatedly that shy people were disliked and that he needed to change his entire personality. One tutor bluntly stated, “Nobody cares about your qualifications if you’re a weirdo.”

Despite his best efforts, Cory couldn’t find a job. He watched as his former bullies and less qualified peers landed positions with ease. It seemed that the job market favored those who were loud and brash over those who were quiet but capable. Even positions that seemed tailor-made for someone with his skills were out of reach. The rejection and constant pressure to change who he was took a toll on his mental health. Cory became increasingly depressed, grappling with obsessive-compulsive disorder and spiraling into psychosis.

The breaking point came when he attended a course for the unemployed. The course tutor delivered a harsh truth: “In today’s world, it’s not what you know but how you sell yourself. And let’s be honest, nobody likes a shy person.” Cory felt a crushing realization—society truly did favor bullies over the shy. Those who had tormented him in school were now thriving in their careers, while he was left with nothing but rejection and scorn.

His frustration and despair grew into a blinding rage. Cory took to wandering the streets, hurling vile insults at strangers, his mind shattered by the injustice he had faced. He had been a diligent student, a hardworking graduate, yet he was reduced to a laughingstock, mocked by those who had once bullied him and dismissed by those he had hoped would be his colleagues.

In his moments of clarity, Cory saw the bitter irony: the very traits that society claimed to value—dedication, intelligence, and skill—were overshadowed by superficial charm and aggressiveness. His bullies, once seen as the scourge of his school life, were now the darlings of the corporate world, given chance after chance, while he, with all his drive and determination, was cast aside.

Cory’s descent into madness was slow but inevitable. He became a ghost of his former self, a cautionary tale of what happens when society fails to recognize the value of those who are different. His story ended in obscurity, his cries of injustice unheard, his existence a silent testament to a world that rewards the loudest voices, regardless of their merit.

The people in power, those who had the chance to change his fate, merely shrugged and told him to know his place. They said he had narcissistic behavior for wanting a job, and so, Cory faded into the background, a reminder that in a world that celebrates extroversion, the shy are often left behind, their potential untapped and their dreams unfulfilled.