The Split Screen of My Mind
“Ju ni Jungian Jacks” by Jack Clauss
“The Split Screen of My Mind” by Zach Briskin-Watson
They say write what you know. What I know is the split screen of my mind.
On Monday, I wrote an essay about World War II. Meanwhile, in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott classified gender-affirming treatment for transgender adolescents as child abuse, a move that puts teens at higher risk of suicide.
On Tuesday, I learned about the replication of cells, as President Zelensky pleaded for help from the rest of the world while Russia invaded Ukraine, killing hundreds.
On Wednesday, I played Mario Kart against my friends during lunch, while Natalia Murinik, a Ukrainian teenager, said a tearful goodbye to her grandparents before her family fled to Poland.
On Thursday, I read Of Mice and Men in English class. In Tennessee, the local board of education voted to ban Maus, a graphic novel about the Holocaust, from the eighth grade curriculum.
On Friday, I spent lunchtime discussing how the D & D Club could appeal to new members. That same day, 1600 people died of covid, most of them having refused the vaccines that could’ve prevented their deaths.
Holding these two screens in focus at the same time makes my head hurt. I’m trying to crack the code to high school – making friends, getting good grades, figuring out where I fit in. But while I’m navigating that sea of confusion, my attention drifts to an even scarier world full of troubles so far beyond my control: even if I do everything right, will I grow up in a world where it’s still possible to live a good life? Will the threat of a nuclear war become real? Will we ever get on the other side of this awful pandemic? Will freedom for people who look different, think different, or act different be extinguished?
Do you too see the history being written while we lace up our shoes, sling on our backpacks and head out to wait for the bus?
Is there a split screen in your mind? Is it pixelated? Is it in color? What do you see?
