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Isabella Shea, a second-year student at Endicott College, published a collection of poems, Living In Pieces, detailing her mental health struggles during the COVID-19 pandemic. The book was published in November 2023 with the intention of raising awareness about teen mental health. She hoped that her book would allow others, who were struggling, to know that it is okay to not be okay. Individualism is one of the many poems in Isabella’s collection.

Individualism

Breath.
One breath can save you.
No one has to tell you to breathe at night.
Your body knows,
How to breathe without you.
How to live without you.
In a way, your body doesn’t need you.
You need your body.
More than your body needs you.
You are, without your body.
Nothing.
One free soul,
In the world.
Would you like that?
Freedom from your body?
Mirrors would no longer stop,
And stare back.
Telling you to change.
You would be free.
Do you want the mirror?
Does the mirror want you?
Do you want to change and leave the mirror behind?

— Isabella Shea

Isabella Shea

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