This piece was created the night of the 2020 presidential election, but it was also inspired by the combined stress of the pandemic, school, college applications, and extracurriculars all weighing down on me. That night I
had felt the physical toll that this year has taken on me and many others. I had kept myself busy in order to avoid thinking too much about the situation we’re in, but that night I could feel my dry unblinking eyes and my dragging face telling me to give up.
Overall, the pandemic has made life for students more difficult due to school being completely virtual. It’s especially difficult for first-generation students like myself, who don’t have family members to help us with our college applications. On top of schoolwork feeling excessive, many of us have lost our support system of friends and teachers, and counselors. For others, school may have been their only safe haven, whether it means
having a plate of food for breakfast and lunch, or not getting misgendered by your own family. The world is tense, and I wanted my piece to convey that tension.