During The Darkness

You may see me struggle, 
but you won't see me fall. 
Regardless if I'm weak or not, 
I'm going to stand tall. 
Everyone says life is easy, 
but truly living it is not.
Times get hard, 
people struggle
and constantly get put on the spot. 
I'm going to wear the biggest smile, 
even though I want to cry. 
I'm going to fight to live,
even though I'm destined to die. 
And even though it's hard 
and I may struggle through it all,
you may see me struggle...
but you will NEVER see me fall.

The pandemic has caused many of us to endure heavy-hearted feelings—the feeling of sorrow, depression, grief, and much more. Many of us have lost loved ones, dealt with mental issues, or just have lost the passion or motivation for the things we used to love.  With all of those adversities coming into our lives fast and unexpectedly, Joyce’s poem is here to remind us all that this pandemic shouldn’t keep us knocked on the floor, but we should stand up tall against it. Joyce’s poem connects to our theme of finding bright spots in the darkness because although the pandemic has stolen a lot of unimaginable memories from us,  we still strive to make new memories and find redemption for the opportunities we lost because of the pandemic. 

During this pandemic, it would come as no surprise if someone had their dreams crushed because of the consequences of the pandemic. People have lost out on job opportunities, internships, opportunities to explore the world, and much more golden offerings life has to give. Because of this, the pandemic has caused many in our society to feel like their pivotal moment of life has been stripped from them, but this inspiring drawing tells us that is not the case. This drawing was inspired by the novel “ A Court of Mist & Fury”, by Sarah J  Maas where one of the characters who aren’t capable of seeing stars doesn’t let that stop him from dreaming of them. This drawing is here to help remind us that just because we lost an opportunity, we could only once dream of doesn’t mean we can’t dream of another one. This is another disguised blessing of this pandemic that has given us a lot more time to think about our future and discover new dreams.

This pandemic overall has made many of us feel uninspired and somber for the future. It wouldn’t be a lie if I said many of us saw the world from a dark perspective once our schools shut down, our plans for the summer went out the window, our friendships with others became more distant, and most of all, our loved ones pass away. However, this picture shows there is more to where that darkness is, a bit of color or light you will have to find your way to. For many of us, it was finding new hobbies and passions to better ourselves; for others, it was taking a much-needed break from those passions and working on their issues that they couldn’t work on prior. Regardless, this pandemic was a chance to work on things they were falling behind on for many people.