Yr 12 English student work

In Year 12 English, students were required to respond to a series of stimuli, under the framework of Protest. The title of their piece was 'Listen'.  Below is the response from Jessica S.

Please, listen, try to comprehend the nature of our lives. 

Today, I stand before you as someone who have dealt with a chronic illness for a long time, I have experienced the highs and lows of what it means to have a chronic illness, to be silenced by chains that were imposed on me without choice. 

Please, imagine for a moment, every step you take is a struggle, where pain courses through your vein like a towering skyscraper that crushes you under its own weight. Where every moment of the day is a battle against an internal adversary. Like me, this is the reality of millions of people with chronic illnesses that grapple with this conflict every single day. 

Amidst the physical anguish, the silence of our voices is a silence that stems not from lack of desire to speak but from the exhaustion of trying to make our voices heard in a world with deaf ears, or better yet, letting our voices known but others with a louder and thundering form of expression are heard first. 

We are silenced by the disbelief of those who cannot comprehend the depths of our struggles. We are silenced by the dismissive attitudes of those who label our illness as mere fragility. We are silenced by healthcare that too often fail to recognize the complexities of our conditions, leaving us to navigate a labyrinth of misdiagnoses and inadequate treatments. Perhaps most dire, we silence ourselves with our own fears – fears of being judged, fears of being perceived as a burden, fear of being weak and vulnerable. 

Please, do not pity us, no one wants your sympathy, only you’re understanding.  

Yet, let me be clear, our silence is not surrender. Despite the weight of our burdens, we fight battles that few can comprehend. Listen to our stories, acknowledge the pain we endure, and stand with us as we strive for recognition and understanding. 

Thank you 

-Jessica S, Yr 12