1. Rachel’s Spoken Word

prom dress
graduation cap and gown
first-day-of freshman year in college outfit
what do these all have in common?
I wouldn't know
unable to mourn
the death these experiences
my mind decided that
TV-static-numbness was the way to go
soon sense of community
evaporated
like water droplets
from dry lips
what came next was
a digital tidal wave of texts
threatening to overtake me
drowning in a sea of "seen"s and "unseen"s
but what's truly unseen is the sheen in my eyes
the pinch-shouldered anxiety
of responding
not because I don't care, but precisely because I do
I care too much to
just respond already
I want to bubble wrap each message
in the love and attention that I feel I can only give in person
but just when i thought i would drown
In this flood of near anonymous attention
I found that I wasn't alone
As 15 fellow freshman faces
Bob on screen, swimming through quarantine together
15 faces, but 1 community
Finally
I can feel again

3. Lauren’s Spoken Word

I started a painting that I won't ever finish
colors splash and doodles dance
across my bedroom walls
keeping me sane at night
and day and night and day and night
the same day repeating, repeating, repeating, repeating
and im alone
not because I chose to
but because I have to
forced introversion can hurt introverts too you know
But I force this forced introversion to be free internal vision
reflecting
broken mirrors just show angles of myself I never saw before
so each day
I paint this painting I won't ever finish
I paint it not on my bedroom wall,
but inside each wrinkle of my brain
transforming these walls from a cage to a canvas
this painting is a process, a mindset, a state of becoming not a static state of being
this painting
is my resilience

2. Veniel’s Spoken Word

Sad, Happy, Pain, Appreciative, Sorrow, Hopeful
the unending roller coaster ride of emotions
it weighs me down, HOLDS me down
Like every wave after wave of all the useless information I allowed myself to cultivate
My mind, like a library, there is a variety of sentiments that sink in
Deeper than ever before into my thoughts
I shut my eyes for a second and open them to a whole new world
A world I once knew, a world I was used to, Torn away from me in a blink of an eye
The absence of the community that made me feel unity, drowned me until I could not breath
Every second was crucial and every question was brutal
Am I too comfortable? Where do I go from here? How do I persevere?
The inspiration and light I once saw is now dim and so I’ve been left in the dark
Yes I’ve been left in the dark, but with the ability to see the light
With a realization that I do have somewhere to go
The hardships that restrained me
Allowed a foundation for my resilience
I choose to grow and move forward every single day
So I can pave the way for myself to flourish

4. Devyn’s Spoken Word

L-O-N-E-S-O-M-E,  lonesome
meaning being solitary or lonely
a feeling I’ve been too familiar with for too long
I either feel too productive or I feel too unmotivated there is no in between
I am mentally exhausted and I am physically anchored
In my room, in my space, in my head
I am mutually drifting as the days go by
And don’t feel one ounce of guilt
I have embraced my time inside, but have lost my sense of contact with my companions
I feel as if I’m floating and letting the ocean’s currents tackle me
My circle seems small because it is and I refuse to feel at fault from letting others in
My lack of motivation has left me uninspired but i still aspire to be to be relaxed to doodle and draw to dance and share
I will not miss these opportunities to connect with new creators
I too will be resilient, and will maneuver any situation so that the odds are in my favor