Olivia Vella was due to give a presentation for her writing class as a part of her school’s end of year assignments.
But no one expected her to completely blow away every student and teacher in the school.
The 13-year-old stood at the top of the classroom to recite her poem, but the message she shares through her poetry is outstanding.
The teen brought Queen Creek Middle School to a standstill on the ever popular topic amongst women: “Why am I not good enough?”
The poem depicts the thoughts the young girl has each day as she rises and every night as she goes to bed; thinking about all the things she has to do, mainly recounting how girls and students put on a front to get through their school day.
Documenting the social pressure society holds over our youth Olivia calculates:
“One: take a shower, you don’t want to smell. Two: Pick out an outfit that will fit in with the latest trends and won’t make you the laughing stock of school, more than you already are.”
“Three: Put on some makeup so you can actually show your face in public and be a little bit pretty.
You can’t even recognise yourself and your face tingles with an unbelievable itch you can’t satisfy. Otherwise you will have ruined the hours of meticulous painting you applied to your hideous face.”
But she reinforces that you cannot, by any means, show people the tears you are holding back, revealing:
“You can’t let anyone else at school know how you feel, otherwise they’ll never respect you the same way they used to.
Or did they ever?”
Describing how it feels to be judged and not hang in popular circles, Olivia tells us:
“You cannot stand up for yourself, because you’re alone, trapped and defenceless.”
Olivia shares the harsh reality that every passing comment crushes self-esteem, sending it to the depths below.
Knowing that the one thing that gives her joy is the one thing that will make the comments worse; getting good grades, which is something she also fails to comprehend.
And while she counters the various societal expectations, the poems conclusion is something every woman young and old can relate to and should remind themselves of each and every day:
“You are loved, you are precious, you are beautiful, you are talented, you are capable, you are deserving of respect.”
“You are one in seven billion.”
“And most of all, you are good enough.”
We're between bawling and wanting to take over the world and hoping Olivia becomes president some day! Wow.
