The Race to Normality

Almost alone, unsure of what lies ahead

One companion, in the same place

Left only with what is on our backs

The world always so confusing, leaving us in one big race

Like a marathon with a never-ending course, When will my life be normal again?

So little, so naïve

So capable of learning more in life

Left to fend for ourselves, in the darkness of night

The fight for peace has begun, putting us in an unwanted strife. Scared of what will occur while left alone

When will my life be normal again?

Whoosh!

Everything flying by

Invading our one hope of peace

In awe, unaware of what lies in the sky

The door left open, allowing everything to seep in When will my life be normal again?

The door holds an immense level of power.

One touch, and everything could change.

The door can swallow everything that it encounters. Everything seems especially strange.

One pull and everything could go back to the way it was.

When will my life be normal again?

A world where gravity is comfortable, appreciated,

But gravity no longer exists Floating, longing to be back on my feet

The chance to be able to live a standard life again, forever missed.

Every rock, every morsel swimming towards me, in a surge of power

When will my life be normal again?

The eye of the storm

The focus of existence

The Earth full of so many possibilities

Longing for experienced assistance

More human interaction is wanted, needed.

Time goes by, and I no longer see normality in my future.

Alexis Roberts ‘25

What is it like to be a Woman?

Sit still Sit straight Don’t slump You can’t complain Men tie the strings attaching those things to your wrists, The puppeteers holding the ties to your brain, And you can’t complain Your control no longer exists

What in the world would women want?

Freedom, the opportunity to chose a life, a path, to live without asking permission?

To be considered equal to a man who haunts Their shadow looms above you, and you cower into submission.

Women forced to the constraints of their clothes, With metal wires trapping them in, imprisoned in their own skin, Always taught the right and proper way to pose, The world so concerned with our size, too wide or too thin

We want equality for the girls who mirror their mothers. We want equality for future, CEO’s, lawyers, and doctors. We want equality for the dreamers, the free spirits, the lovers. We want equality for all different characters.

We fought, with our words and actions, and held true through the strife to live in a world with a chance to choose our own lives.

So our daughters and granddaughters of generations to come Will be free to live outside from underneath our oppressors’ knives.

Francesca Rodgers ‘25