Every Day the Same

Student

My eyes burn as I stare at the screen. The clock reads one hour left, but it feels like I have been in this Zoom call all day. My sister comes into the room to announce that dinner is ready, a time when my family would normally eat has been taken over by a Zoom class. My sister runs down to tell my mom that I’m busy. Minutes later, I hear my mom yell my name repeatedly for me to come eat. She doesn’t understand how I can be at home and unable to come down for dinner. This is the way that Zoom classes go. Monday through Friday, a repetition of events. Stuck in a zoom call, in my room, back in Texas: every day the same.