Gemotions

Her essay, a story about an impoverished upbringing, was now a model for aspiring applicants. Each carefully chosen word now felt like a stone in her stomach. She’d omitted the details of her life, and manufactured a more compelling narrative.

She stared out the window of her dorm room, unable to focus on her studies. She felt a deep sense of wrongness. The success felt hollow, the achievement tainted.

The comfortable life she had created, now seemed suffocating. She wanted to scream, to rip off the mask she had been wearing. The feeling seemed to echo in the hollows of her chest.