I get up and start to go,

I'm searching for food while I explore

This land that I love evermore

Finally I find a tasty bamboo

And if you're hungry, I might share it with you

There are many days where I plan my future.

Ever so often I get asked "where do you see yourself in 5 years".

Why are we planning for a future of a 9 to 5 life ?

Why must we know?

Why must we care?

Say the truth, but enhance it,

Is it even the truth anymore? Better be.

Lie and you will risk, say the truth,

You may not be enough.

But you must, or else

What will you do in life?

Apply, be truthful, but not too much,

Watch your word, everyone has eyes around here…

-Sofia Compagnoni

With grace and speed, it swiftly rides.

A sleek, dark body, a playful soul,

Through ocean's vastness,it takes its toll.

A leap and splash, a joyful sound,

The dolphin's dance, a sight profound.

I am the one who eats

My breath close to your neck

Unquenchable thirst

Immeasurable hunger

Watch me eat away at the land, the ocean, the sky

No one to contest my crown

I am Human.

Deep down the abyss of the ocean I roam.

I rule this underworld, I rule it with fear.

All of the others are part of my kingdom,

 even the most smart animals on land fear me,

My sharp daggers shine in my mouth as I grin

Towards my next victim.

Slowly…hauntingly… you won’t hear or see me until it is too late.

My daggered jaws open and it is the end.

For you, and for anyone in my way, anyone who goes against me.

Sharp fins are what guide me anywhere I roam.

-Shark by Sofia Compagnoni

Essays are written in the silent night.

Transcripts tell tales of hard-fought battles,

Admissions dance with a hopeful life.

SAT scores and dreams accumulate, 

College doors swing wide.

Words weave the tale of who they want to see

Listing achievements, dreams, and all,

waiting for the call.

Through the doors of judgment, I tread,

Trying to impress with the best I've said.

In each form, the cycle repeats,

And repeats

Thousands of question marks in my head,

questioning about this thing

"College Application".

Regardless of the length of life,

I am not ready for this.

Is it worth trying?

Do I have to give it a go?

No, no, no

Get this out of my head.

You don't know?

You know that I can fix that

No matter what you need and want

What you want is not what you need, you need this

THIS is what you were looking for

Even if you were not looking

The looking looks for you

Well now you have what you were looking for

But what is your heart set to now?

write all you want,

but does it really show who you are?

Selling yourself on the market,

with no time to spare.

4.0 gpa, 40 extracurriculars and a 400 word essay is what defines you.

But is that the full measure of you?

Or is there more, hidden from view?

They say, and they repeat and they just keep going and going.

It’s inevitable I suppose.

A girl’s actions always come back eventually.

It is how society works these days.

I am nothing but an attraction, an attraction for them.

Them who call themselves men,

Are they even men, to me, they just look like hungry animals,

Fighting over a prey.

but who am I to judge,

After all, if I did

What kind of girl would I be?

• Injustice by Sofia Compagnoni

Doesn't matter how smart.

Will the report cards define?

It's time to let them "shine"

The time of the year is finally here,

Smiles, tears and fear.

Dreams and goals achieved,

Or work until fall asleep.

It's staring at me as if it says "this is your end"

I fear my application isn't good enough

for Harvard's immense glory, it is too rough

Anxiety whispers in my ear

"Give up!" but I refuse to hear

I take the courage to decide my future

press "Send" and hastily close my computer

Finally I feel light as a ballon 

Relieved from my stress, oh I could fly to the moon

Years of work, lessons, experiences written onto one page 

It all flashes by 

Why did the time fly 

Now that is left is the memories that remain

Sometimes I wish it could stay the same

I stand with my heart filled with gratitude

Ready to embrace the change

I purr I scratch I eat

I leave for days 

And put my owner in a haze 

Haha I rule this house

and silent screams inside my head.

Eight hundred words it must bear,

and yet, who am I?

I’m not ready to grow up,

Not ready to break these rose-tinted windows.

Pacing back and forth, I’m restless.

Heart in my stomach,

and a lump in my throat.

“Just be yourself,” they said,

and yet, who am I?

My life spilled out on a page,

5 months spent meticulously moping it up

In an attempt to disguise the chaos within.

Everything in order so this stage looks like a home.

If these splatter stains 

Were truly my blood, sweat, and tears,

Would it make a difference?

Could it then be enough?

My worth battles and cries

“I deserve this.”

Amid a swarm of paper bodies

My letter prays to resonate sweetly on your tongue.

Is this what I amount to?

The word count all I account for,

My value decided by the flick of a hand.

Is the abyss of ‘the can’ my destiny?

But I am always near.

You might feel you are alone,

Until you see you are not.

I might steal your food,

But only because looks good.

I will never stop wagging my tail,

Until the end of my days.

Who am I?

The double layer of cheese looks really tasty

Salat, tomatoes and even pickles on it

Oh man, this burger, I would never share it

But then I realize it's already my stop, 

One last look at the billboard and I get off the bus

Do not take me as a fool.

It is time to haunt,

There are no rules.

I am everywhere,

You cannot avoid me.

So you better be aware,

I am never letting you free.

But where did you fall from if you didn’t fall?

Because if you fell then there must be a leaf

Is there a leaf that let you fall?

And you couldn’t fall to the top so where is the leaf,

why did it let you fall?

A trees leafs are the same, not harder and not more sturdy

Not even so sturdy, but this one is what you wanted

Did you fall, no it was a jump

Your jump led you falling through the foliage

My sultry gaze pierces through the bitter gale.

A dangerous dancer in the snow

My form weaves in and out of the glacial labyrinth.

A dazzling killer, my soft body draws closer,

My eyes aglow with adrenaline.

Or is it curiosity that pools within these orbs,

Scouring or scanning my surroundings?

My perilous presence lears over the ravine

Casting shadows of jagged peaks, 

where secrets weave unseen, untold.

Is it fear that cascades down that avalanche

Or echoes of misconstructed whispers…

Who is to discern that gentle heartbeat, 

Syncopated with the lull of the blizzard,

Of a misunderstood soul beneath the sleet?

A force veiled by the shadows, silently bold,

Camouflaged against the harsh unforgiving winter. 

But is it you who is unforgiving?