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I felt highly anxious in a way that I didn't think other children were.

I went to work and did a lot of homework about what was wrong with me.

As a teenager I was very anxious. I had a lot of energy and passion that I wanted to channel into creative things, and I always felt like I wasn't achieving enough.

I hate homework. I hate it more now than I did when I was the one lugging textbooks and binders back and forth from school. The hour my children are seated at the kitchen table, their books spread out before them, the crumbs of their after-school snack littering the table, is without a doubt the worst hour of my day.

Sundays in my teens were spent on homework: from 8 am until at least 8 pm, with stoppages to be fed and watered. I was carrying up to ten subjects simultaneously.

Growing up, I was prone to anxiety.

I was not a very fearful kid, really.

I'm missing work. We didn't have enough money for preschool. I had a panic attack. I couldn't do it. I became one of those horrible foster parents who give the kids back.

My parents were very firm about me always getting my homework done.

I know kids are supposed to go through these awkward stages, but I just never even thought about that. I was too busy worrying about getting my education while I was working.