“Another day, another dollar,” I sighed to myself as my alarm continued to reverberate through my room, reminding me that I slept five minutes too long. I lethargically silenced my alarm, still exhausted from the double that I pulled back at the hospital. Today I have my field placement, which is at the local grade school. I sluggishly got out of my bed and began to rush through my morning routine. I checked my clock, “Shoot. It’s already 7:05 am,” I said frantically. I have 10 minutes to make the 19 bus. I ran to the kitchen and stuffed a Nutri Grain bar in my bag, not having enough time to make breakfast. I slid to the coat rack by the front door, hastily throwing on my coat, scarf, hat, and boots. I screamed bye to my parents over my shoulder, who was just waking up and ran down the stairs taking two at a time. The bitter cold of the air outside immediately hit my cheeks, leaving a sting behind. I tightened my scarf around my neck and checked the time. “7:08 am” I have 7 minutes to get to the bus, which is a few blocks away. I ran past the local bodegas and grocery stores. Buildings were still boarded up from the Black Lives Matter protests that took over the streets during the summer. I ran past the urgent care that was a block away from the bus stop. Elderly people were sitting outside of the urgent care on their lawn chairs bundled under a thick quilt waiting for a COVID 19 test. As I passed the clinic, I could hear the security guards yelling at the people at the back of the line to stand six feet apart. The line was shorter today – it usually wraps around the block.
I spotted the bus coming up the street and quickened my pace. I made it just in time. The bus approached me, hissing to a stop. As I boarded, I was instantly overwhelmed by how packed it was. People were standing shoulder to shoulder. I tightened my face mask around my ears and marched through the crowd of people. Luckily, I spotted a seat nestled in the corner of the back of the bus. I sat down with a huff; my mornings are always so hectic. I checked the time “7:21 am” I have 40 minutes to check my field placement agenda and take a quick nap. I opened my phone to check my calendar to see what tasks I was assigned at the middle school today. I was interrupted by a text from my classmate Erika. “Did you see the Masters of Social Work Facebook page? The deadline to apply for graduation is today!!” My fellow social work colleagues have been my saving grace. The field department and my academic department have been unresponsive and unsupportive since the program switched to virtual. I switched back to my calendar. I will be doing one on ones with the students to see if they need any support. The students I serve are lower-income, and their families struggle with getting resources as many have been laid off from their jobs since the pandemic started. I made a mental note of my tasks and put my phone away in my bag. I closed my eyes and rested my head against the window. “This is why I am doing this work,” I thought to myself. “For my community. Things have to change.” With that thought, I drifted to sleep to the movement of the bus grinding against the pavement.
This piece was written by Chelsea O’Neill and is a narrative interpretation/representation of findings from an informal interview with a classmate.
Featured image courtesy of Regös Környei at Unsplash.
