Black Hole

In March 2020, I was a happy sophomore looking forward to two more years of friends, classes, and freedom before I entered the real world. Cue a black hole and now I’m a tired senior. People idolize the “college experience” but mine has been tainted by toxicity. Sometimes I even regret going to UNC. Whether it’s the constant competition or pressure to win the rat race, this environment has stripped me of my self. Outside of academics or internships or jobs, how do I measure success? The “prestigious” environment of UNC built a barbed-wire fence of Capitalism around my mind. I fantasize about a successful future in measurements of production and money. But I want to find success and a sense of self-achievement outside of a Capitalist mindset. As I get closer to graduation I constantly ask myself: When I’m no longer a student, who am I?