“It kept getting worse.” How does one manage to articulate the source of perpetual and chronic trauma? How does one merge feelings of rage, woe, and doubt? Horror, anxiety, and vulnerability? In a sudden flash of smoke and fire, life stopped. The world erupted into an unparalleled panic as two planes crashed into the beating heart of America. “It kept getting worse.” Epitomizing the freedom the United States projects to the world, the World Trade Center in Downtown Manhattan was attacked and ultimately destroyed. In just 102 minutes, thousands of lives were stolen, and the world was forever changed. “It kept getting worse.”

Actual class feels like the most normal part of the day. Besides the walls of glass between students, learning is pretty much the same as it used to be. Although there’s no possible way to keep a whole high school six feet apart at all times, my school has done a good job of coming up with new ways to avoid big crowds of people. For instance, in each building there are designated up and down stairs, creating a flow of traffic between classes. Overall, this method seems to be pretty effective.

According to Business Insider, Oklahoma is the sixth most Conservative state in the country. This statistic makes it seem impossible that my state, Oklahoma, could ever be a stronghold for Progressives, right? If this is your perception of my state, you are not only deceived, but I will show you that not only is Oklahoma not Conservative, it’s Socialist. Progressive politics could win over the state in one election cycle, and this is the way to victory for America’s Progressives in Oklahoma. 

While some of my classmates and the younger adults in the area have stood up on their Instagram stories or even attended protests, many people simply posted a black square for Instagram’s Blackout Tuesday and then went silent about the problems we are facing. Some of the other conservative kids and adults have condemned others for standing up against racism and claimed we are only spreading “violence.” Violence!? How is standing up against police brutality and racism spreading violence?

Almost every morning for the past four years, my peers have hopped out of their cars and marched into school for first period - backpacks on and worried they might fail whatever test they have that day. Hardly anyone seems to notice or care about Mississippi’s state flag they pass merely fifty yards from the schools’ entrance. Clearly and inescapably, the flag depicts the Confederate battle emblem. For decades, this symbol has caused a polarizing divide between both non-residents and residents of Mississippi. Yet it has been normalized. Though it is long overdue, changes to the state flag of Mississippi are finally happening.

When immigrating from South America to the United States, my parents decided to move our family to Scarsdale, New York, because of the amazing academic reputation the school district has. Scarsdale High School (SHS) is one of the best public schools in new york state and the entire country. I quickly found out that the lack of diversity negatively impacted my social life, and I was isolated, receiving a lot of racism and xenophobia. Here are some of my experiences, as someone who just graduated from Scarsdale High School, the school known for its seemingly perfect reputation.

It’s no secret that from a young age, children begin picking up notions of race. A recent study I read mentioned that even starting from as young as the age of two, children begin to pick their friends by who looks similar to them. Racial differences are ingrained in us. And that’s not necessarily bad, because most people take pride in their ethnicity—I know I do!—but it becomes problematic when we selectively discriminate against those who do not look like us.

As a fifteen-year-old white female from an upper-class suburb, most of my experiences with racism have been through textbooks and history lessons. In the past week, however, I was shocked at the number of social media posts concerning racism, police brutality, and the Black Lives Matter movement. People who wear “Make America Great Again” hats to school sports games are suddenly preaching messages of unity and justice.

A blanket of silence draped over Times Square, the center of the City That Never Sleeps, as thousands of protesters dropped to their knees with their fists pointing to the sky, in solidarity, mourning the loss of far too many black men and women to America’s most lethal weapon: police brutality. It was perhaps the quietest Times Square has ever been, and for two minutes, the world seemed to have stopped moving.

This is not the first time an unarmed black man has been killed by police, and this is not the first time there has been uproar. However - and call me naive - something about this feels different. America has been angry for a while now, but it feels as if her anger has bubbled up from underneath us and has now risen to the surface. Her fury is palpable, it is visible.

When the Black Lives Matter movement began to take over the news cycle with the most recent police brutality murders, dominating current social culture and overtaking the media’s presence, I had no idea what to say. So I said nothing.

Some part of me was stuck in the mindset that this did not involve me. Events like this had come and gone in the past, and I was honestly just confused for a while. I didn't mean to ignore the issue, but hours slipped into days, and I remained quiet.

“My family is from Iran. I have Muslim family members. If you actually spoke to someone Muslim, you would know that their religion is based on peace. People who do these kinds of things are not truly Muslim, they just use religion to justify their actions.” I don’t remember what else he said. I just remember hearing the words family and terrorists. I couldn’t choke back the tears anymore. My teacher cuts the boy off before he can say anything else and thanks me for my contribution before quickly changing the topic. I start shaking every time I think about it

The first day I walked into those hallowed halls, I was immediately hit with huge culture shock. While all of my old friends were from the city, the students at my new school hailed from every suburb in Illinois. The teachers were stern and old-fashioned. The rules were strict. Although my old school didn’t even have a dress code, in Catholic school, it was collared shirts and khakis every day. We went to Mass, prayed in every class, and studied religion regularly. I hadn’t gone to church in years, and now I was learning about the Book of Job and the Gospels every day.

Just before you cross into Gatlinburg, Tennessee, you’ll find a town different than your typical Southern city. The small, yet energetic, city of Asheville rests within the valley of the Appalachian Mountains between the Swannanoa and French Broad Rivers. The heart of the city reveals new age aesthetics that influence many tourists, including former President Barack Obama, to visit the town regularly. Others travel to Asheville for the geographic diversity that surrounds it.

I grew up in a Christian household in Missouri, meaning I spent my weekends in church and my summers at Vacation Bible School. VBS mostly entailed games, fun crafts, snacks, and lots of songs. Naturally, I loved it growing up. One day after snack, I remember, a guest speaker came to our class with a ‘Pro-Life’ button pinned to her chest. We all sat down on a carpet and let the church shove their anti-abortion propaganda down our throats.

Today I am sitting in the Portland Public Library, scrolling through updates about impeachment day. I have been waiting for this day for a very long time. Three years and a few weeks. I know the facts, what people are saying, he most likely will not be removed, but I still find the idea of impeachment quite frightening: because years of taking advantage of women is not enough to be removed from office.

On September 27th, 2018 at 3:05 PM, when the last bell rings, hundreds of students gathered in the library surrounding various computers. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford was scheduled to testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee an hour earlier, which meant CNN Live Broadcast was still going. Silence filled the air as students from around the DC Private schools watched the fate of their alumni. Instagram feeds lit up with stories that say either, “I stand with Dr. Ford” or “I stand with Brett Kavanaugh”.

On Christmas morning, I woke up to snap stories of kids showing off their brand new Mercedes and Louis Vuitton purses. For some people, this may seem crazy, but it’s the norm in Silicon Valley: privileged kids and their rich, successful parents. However, this privilege comes with a price.

If by some curse you end up in the modest little town of Sanford, North Carolina, you’ll end up driving by a different church about every five miles. On Sundays, and even Wednesdays, the parking lots will be crowded with the towns’ citizens. Living in the South, religion has always had a large part in my life. It has always been the topic of conversations and has always controlled my Sunday mornings, but most importantly it has seeped into the social fabrics of my small hometown.

Vermont is notorious for having a nearly all-white population. In fact, 96.2% of Vermont’s population is white. Locally, I could count the number of people of color that go to my school on one hand as well as the number of republicans. I love to preach the importance of civil discourse, but civility is easy when you're arguing the same point. I don’t know what there is to debate.