On May 18, the Triton Museum in Santa Clara opened its new digital art gallery with poetry, video, essays and visual art from the Eating Disorder Resource Center’s “Be-You-tiful” contest.
Students were invited to submit pieces exploring how social media and the world around them influences the way they see themselves. The exhibit runs through June 16.
Shivaani Kumara Venkatesh, a 7th Grade student at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, in Saratoga, won second place in the middle school poetry category with her poem “Reality.” It’s reprinted below with permission.
Reality
By Shivaani Kumara Venkatesh
The girl in the mirror looks a lot like me
Same height, same hair, same face
A shadow of whom I used to be
Now I’m a stranger in this place
Yearning to be someone special
Vigor unleashed, untamed
Endeavoring to make vivid dreams come true
With fervor, I lit the flame
Like Icarus, I soared into the sun–
Blinded by desire
I wanted to achieve
To satisfy
Within me, that burning fire
I used to be extraordinary
Now I’m just extra ordinary
I spread my wings, felt so free
Let my hopes and dreams take flight
Then crashed into reality:
I’m a shadow of whom I used to be
But there’s a glimmer on the horizon
A rainbow through the rain
Once more, I feel myself rising
With nothing to lose, and everything to gain
