Why does it sometimes feel like everyone is watching us? During the teenage years, the brain becomes much more sensitive to what other people think. Scientists have found that a region near the front of the brain, called the medial prefrontal cortex, is very active when we think about ourselves and when we imagine how others see us. In teens, this region responds even more strongly than in adults. This helps explain why many young people feel like they are always on a stage, a feeling psychologists call the “imaginary audience.”

To protect how they look to others, people sometimes hide their real feelings behind a calm, perfect surface. Keeping up that act takes real mental effort, and it can leave a person feeling tired and empty when they are finally alone.

This poem shows both sides of that mirror. In public there are sweet smiles and good posture. In private, when the windows shut, there is a shattered vase and soil where nothing grows. The final line, “Hello, world,” reminds us that the mask often goes right back on.