At 5:00 AM, like everyday I heard “PING” as my phone notified me of the “five things you need to know” subscription I have with a national news channel application. I couldn’t believe what I saw. As I was reading, I just prayed that this would be a bad dream and I would wake up to something better. In big, bold letters the top news of the day read “Sophia Rodriguez, 17, was found dead, buried in a foot of snow on the sidewalk in Chicago”. I knew her. We met in middle school and quickly became friends as both of us had just immigrated to America and were trying to adapt to the new environment. The news reporter described her death as suicide by consuming cyanide. But I knew it was a murder. I knew she died of pressure, both parental and peer. Pressure to choose a certain career, pressure to maintain good grades, pressure to look good, pressure to blend in. I just have one regret I should have responded to her text message last night where she cried her heart out.
cooked up by vision+voice
