(Editor’s Note: This article was written for Leo’s Jeffres’ Specialized Writing class.)

As the semester began, I was just like any other student. Ready to see what the new semester brought with classes and other students. I began my final part of senior year and after five years of education, this was the final step.

I’ve known since I was in middle school that I wanted to be a journalist. For me, it was sophomore year at Villa Angela-St.

In unprecedented times, we are battling not only the external threats, but the internal. With a lot of time on our hands, there’s pressure to accomplish so many things when, in reality, our body and mind are processing trauma.

I stopped at the gas station, not wanting to show up to see my auntie empty handed.  It was a spur of the moment visit, as I was coming off a near emotional breakdown. I was coming off the biggest mistake of my life at the time, one I was sure would haunt me forever.

Editor’s Note: Wesley Allen is a student enrolled in Dr. Leo Jeffres’s Specialized Writing class.

Editor’s Note: Samra Karamustafic is a student enrolled in Dr. Leo Jeffres’s Specialized Writing class.

Editor’s Note: Robert Fenbers is a student enrolled in Dr. Leo Jeffres’s Specialized Writing class.

Editor’s Note: Mary Spinelli is a student enrolled in Dr. Leo Jeffres’s Specialized Writing class.