1st Place, Writing

In my poem “Autumn Begins in Charlottesville, Virginia”, dedicated to three of my roommates, I hope to capture the unique love and support that I’ve felt from these friends during this really uncertain and precarious time in our lives. While fourth years every year have to deal with the stress of graduating from UVA and leaving Charlottesville, my friends and I are experiencing these feelings even more intensely, with the sense of danger and unfamiliarity created by the pandemic. This poem represents the UVA student to me because it honors the overwhelming compassion and solidarity I feel from my friends as we together navigate this difficult and fleeting time at UVA.