Considering COVID: 

Remembrance, Reflection, & Recovery

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

On March 13, 2020, we collected our belongings from our classrooms and lockers to go home, not knowing when we would return, and with no concept of where we would be one year later. It has been a struggle, but as we approach this anniversary, we at the literary magazine would like to invite the Del Val community to remember and reflect in the hope that it will be a step towards our recovery.

All reflections are welcome, but consider any of the following quotes or the questions as inspiration:

• “Where you used to be, there is a hole in the world, which I find myself constantly walking around in the daytime, and falling in at night. I miss you like hell.”
  • Edna St. Vincent Millay
• “What we have once enjoyed deeply we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.”
  • Helen Keller
• “It’s so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone.”
  • John Steinbeck, The Winter of Our Discontent
• “I don’t think of all the misery, but of all the beauty that remains.”
  • Anne Frank
• “There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.”
  • Washington Irving
• “We do not learn from experience… We learn from reflecting on experience.”
  • John Dewey
• “Only in the darkness can you see the stars.”
  • Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

• What were you doing a year ago? What did you envision for yourself in the next year? Has that changed? Why or why not?
• What has come out of this year that you wish you could forget?
• What has come out of this year that you hope you never lose?
• How has this year shaped who you are? 
• What does this anniversary mean to you?

Consider your own thoughts, feelings, and ideas on any of the above or something totally different, and submit original creative compositions that engage in some way with your experiences this past year and/or themes of remembrance, reflection, and recovery.

This month’s contest is open to ALL FORMS OF CREATIVE EXPRESSION from ALL DEL VAL STUDENTS, ALUMNI AND STAFF:

• Poetry
• Short Fiction (650 words or fewer)
• Short Nonfiction/Personal Essay (650 words or fewer)
• Photography
• Other artistic expression (Painting, pencil sketches, pastels, watercolor, sculpture, ceramics, etc.)
• Short film (5 minutes maximum)
• Original music recordings, instrumental or vocal
• Original dance performance recordings
• Anything else that you see as an expression of your own creativity!

Winners will be chosen by the literary magazine staff, but all submissions will be published in our digital magazine! 

Good luck!

A GIFT CARD WILL BE AWARDED TO A CHOSEN WINNER EVERY MONTH!

Submission deadline: March 15, 2021

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT!

To read submissions collected for this prompt, click here:

Feb-March 2021 Contest Entries: Considering COVID