In Sickness and in Health
Valerie Lopez, Impact Staff
September 14, 2020
My palms were sweaty and my stomach tightened as the nurse revealed my positive test results over the phone. What would this mean for me; for my family? On March 16, during our wonderful return home to virtual learning due to the pandemic, my family and I had the misfortune of all testing positive...
Losing Innocence
Valerie Lopez, Associate Editor
April 20, 2020
The eager bee never misses his date with a perky flower. He buzzes around the yard searching for one for the afternoon. It was not the red beauty queen rose or the proud white calla lily he longed for. It was the bright innocent yellow sunflower that caught his attention. Beautiful in her own way, the h...
If I Die Before I Wake
Valerie Lopez, Associate Editor
April 6, 2020
COVID-19 has really done a number on all of us, with the confirmed deaths in the United States alone being 10,377 and counting. Every day, Governor Andrew Cuomo gives us a new briefing on the news in New York: the number of people that tested positive - 130,689, ICU patients - 4,504, number of deaths...
Strength of a Lion on Land and at Sea
Valerie Lopez, Associate Editor
March 9, 2020
"Being underwater in a submarine for that long could really drive you crazy, but I just thought about my mother; how strong-minded she is, and it gave me the motivation to keep going." My cousin was deployed with the Navy for the past six months on the USS Colorado (SSN-788) with 140 other ...
“What’s The 27 Club?”
Valerie Lopez, Associate Editor
December 13, 2019
On Sunday, Dec. 8, Juice WRLD, aka Jarad Higgins, died of a seizure from alleged Percocet overdose in an airport in Chicago. Supposedly, he did this to avoid a drug bust from the Feds who were awaiting his arrival. When I woke up on Sunday to hear the news, my heart sank. Juice Wrld was one of my favorite...
When Pineapple Meets Pizza
Valerie Lopez, Associate Editor
November 24, 2019
All was running smoothly. Thanksgiving was approaching, and I was feeling grateful for our Friendsgiving celebration here at the Impact quarters. I have so much to be thankful for. My friends are amazing, I love writing, my family is healthy and well. I was feeling alive despite seasonal depression almost...
Me and My Lonely
Valerie Lopez, Associate Editor
October 1, 2019
I have always feared abandonment. I suppose it was something I developed from my emotionally unstable parents. They would break up and make up every week. My father is an amazing person but really struggled with being faithful to my mother. My mother, well she's Venezuelan, so you know how that goes....
Dear Empaths Of The World
September 19, 2019
Walking into work on labor day weekend was the worst. I felt the thick tension walking into the doors of the department store the minute I walked in. My heartbeat speed up, watching the stress on the customers face. Looking at them pacing back and forth, aching for attention like the cries of a baby. My...
Advice to my Sister
Valerie Lopez, Associate Editor
May 15, 2019
My sister is one of my best friends. We have this unexplainable bond ever since we were as young as I can remember. We call each other Cheetah girls because that has been our favorite movie since 2006 and whenever we are together it is nothing but laughs. We tell each other everything, there are no walls...
A Day In A Life Of Chronic Depression
Valerie Lopez, Associate Editor
May 9, 2019
Chronic depression isn’t just being sad or crying all the time. Sometimes it’s being so numb you can’t feel anything at all. It's sleeping in, having a messy room, isolating yourself and sometimes having anxiety. It's feeling like no one can understand you. It's having mood swings and not enjoying...
