Middle School Girl Gains Internet Following With Powerful Poem

Jun 02, 2021 by apost team

In 2017, Olivia Vella, a student from Arizona, recited a powerful slam poem about insecurities for her seventh-grade writing class. She painted such a vivid portrait of the experience that a video of her delivering this poem went viral.

If we are honest with ourselves, junior high was one of the tougher times of our lives. It is an uncertain time filled with self-discovery and more than its fair share of angst. You may remember being a seventh or eighth grader and feeling quite uncomfortable in your own skin. For some of you, it may have taken every fiber of your being just to get out of bed and face the day ahead of you.

While not everything about that time of life is bad for people, it is often a test of character.

Do you remember how awkward you felt in seventh grade? Did you experience sheer terror at the thought of speaking in public? You are not alone. For many of us, junior high marked the peak of our awkwardness and social anxiety. The pressure to fit in and be cool was extremely high.

Olivia was a middle schooler at Queen Creek Middle School in Arizona back in 2017. She got an assignment from her writing teacher to write an end-of-the-year poem. Students were expected to be able to recite the poem in front of the class. Many of us remember getting similar assignments in junior high. There was always an easy way out to skate through without revealing too much or sticking out in a way that would welcome scorn or rejection. Instead of playing it safe, Olivia decided to take it to another level.

As we probably remember, the pressure to fit in and not rock the boat in junior high is often immense. ABC News reported that Olivia decided that for her poem assignment, she was going to take a risk and open her heart. Instead of working on something easy, she was going to really challenge herself and her class.

As you can see in the video, Olivia succeeded. Her slam poem was a snapshot of what it is like to live a day in the life of a middle schooler. It goes into great detail about the torment that can accompany something as simple as getting dressed in the morning. Olivia details what it is like to decide on an outfit that wouldn't cause her to get picked on and was trendy enough to be accepted.

Her poem asks the heartbreaking question,

"Why am I not good enough?"

She talks about how every day she deals with discomfort and spends hours trying to look pretty, only to feel like she doesn't measure up to other girls at her school.

“I think that you just go to the store and you see this magazine that says: ‘Look at this new way to lose weight.’ Or you see this perfect selfie of someone,” Olivia told PBS of those pressures. “And this society wants everyone to be perfect and just be like objects.”

The young middle schooler's delivery is emotional and raw, painting a picture of the whirlwind of pain she experiences every day. Olivia describes the doubt, negativity and self-esteem issues she deals with, as her world is run by the judgment and criticism of her middle-school life.

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It is an honest, sobering look into the life of an adolescent girl trying to figure out where she stands.

According to Olivia's writing teacher, Brett Cornelius, the other students were left in "awe" of her honest and heartfelt poem. 

“Girls were crying. Boys couldn’t stop looking at Olivia in awe,” Cornelius told PBS. “It changed (how) they viewed her. And then they were clapping and cheering.”

At the end of the poem, the young writer finishes by telling her classmates that they are "good enough." He states that Olivia's honesty has made her his "hero." And judging by the millions of views that her video has garnered, many people agree.

This video reminds us of that difficult time in our lives. It also shows how extraordinary this young woman is for putting herself out there and taking the risk to bring her class together.

Cornelius added that perhaps students connected with Olivia’s slam poem since it was both performative and personal.

“We watched a lot of slam poetry, and these poets were saying all these things kids think and feel every day but don’t have the outlet to say,” he said. “And then these poems gave them the courage to say it.”

Olivia’s poem, which was posted on PoemHunter shortly after the media picked up her story, still receives enthusiastic and heartfelt praise from fans around the world.

In a May 2021 comment, Emma described the poem as “moving” and “deep,” writing, “I truly think many people can relate to almost, if not everything (Olivia) said.”

What did you think of Olivia's poem? Was junior high a tough time for you? Show this to the junior high schoolers in your life to remind them that they are not alone, and let us know your thoughts about this brave young woman.