Topic of "Choice"

The Report

"Pick a topic," they told me. "Anything. Anything at all." So I chose. And here it is:

"So many people are afraid of things. Spiders, clowns, heights, darkness, and most of all, death. I don't understand that. What are you scared of? Scared you're not going to get to finish that last season of Game of Thrones? Why are you scared that you will never get to take another breath? Sure that's a strange way to put it because that sentence in and of itself sounds pretty terrifying, but consider it. Whether you die in your sleep of natural causes, or you get shot in the head, or you die slowly and painfully, why would you be afraid? Those first two don't seem so bad, but dying slowly? You might ask, "Why would I want to die slowly? That seems to disprove your point." But it doesn't. Would you rather sit there in that pain for all eternity? Or take one last breath and have it end? That still doesn't answer my question though. Why are people so afraid of dying? Maybe you don't want to have a loved one suffer. Well, one of you was going to die and leave the other one in pain. Maybe you just love your life too much. Well, when it ends, it ends. There is no stopping it. From the moment you could understand death you were told that it happens to everyone and there's nothing you can do about it. So why worry about it? Why not go out and live your life? Whether you die trying to accomplish that or you die of old age it's going to happen. But that's only one side of the coin. Some people aren't afraid of dying, but they're afraid of death. It sounds like the same thing, but it's not. They're not afraid of losing their own life, they're afraid of losing someone else's. Most people experience this with a relative. Most often a grandparent or parent, but it's not limited to that. I can understand this side of the argument more easily than I can the other. When you're close to someone, you don't want them to die. A natural concept. Although I can understand this side of the argument more easily than I can the other, the same reasoning can be applied. You knew from the moment you could understand, that they were going to die. So enjoy the time you have with them, don't spend it worrying that that time will eventually come to an end. They say you should face a fear head-on. They say it'll help you overcome it. I find that to be true in this scenario. I'm not telling you to go kill yourself. You should face the reality of this particular situation. You and everyone you know, love and hate are going to die. There is nothing you can say, think or do to stop that from happening so there is no reason to fear it. Now, I'm not saying I'm not scared of anything. I'm scared of plenty of things, but I can tell you that death is not one of them. Not my own death, not the death of a loved one, because I know it will happen, and I'm not going to worry about the details."

I look out into the classroom to see a confused, shocked and angry group of people. I don't understand at first. They told me. They said I could-. I should've realized sooner that they lied. It couldn't be what ever I wanted, it had to be something they wanted to hear, not something I wanted to express. I notice that the confidence I had when starting my speech is gone, now turned to anxiety and a longing feeling to be back in my seat in the back of the room with all eyes fixed on someone else. As much as I beg them to, my legs won't budge. My eyes dart around the room as I examine the looks on my peer's faces. Suddenly, a girl to my right begins clapping. Clap. Clap. Clap. I get the sense she's mocking me, but she quickly picks up speed as a smile spreads across her face. The classes piercing glare goes from me to her. I quickly force myself back to my seat, her eyes following me, but all eyes fixed on her. I give her a small nod in thanks. The teacher clears his throat, signaling it to be someone else's turn to give a speech. 

"I decided to do my report on.........." 

I hope you liked my short story thing.