Academic Abecedarian

photo by arantxa villa

Academic Abecedarian

fourth-year shannon moran 

Among hordes of ancient volumes, stifled

beneath a shroud of anxiety, resides a student

clutching a steaming cup of stevia-rich espresso. She

drowns herself in an endless sea of information.

Emerald eyes throbbing 

from the digital

glow of a laptop.  

Hands trembling from excess caffeine. Her phone

illuminates, signaling 

just enough time to submit the assignments.

Knuckles ache from fervent typing.

Lips fissure from dehydration. She makes a 

mental plan for the tasks at hand. Take 

notes until your fingers cramp,

organize resumes and cover letters, somehow write ten 

pages before midnight, cram for the

quiz that you had weeks to prepare for, 

read lofty language that you will never understand­­–– But 

sleep lures her. 

Tiktok beckons. She drifts into a fictitious 

utopia where grades do not consume her and her

value is not determined by a degree,

where stress fails to pierce her soul like an 

x-ray. 

Yet, the clock strikes two. Time for another

Zoom.