Unconditionally,
I loved you.
All of you.
Something stirred inside of me
So long ago.
I tried to ignore it,
Said it be too hard,
Too sad.
I tried other things
But they weren't the same.
And when I got back to it,
I fell in love with it again.
A passion I've never felt with anything else
Helping any animal big or small.
Even little things,
I'll always do for you
No questions asked.
Unconditionally,
I want to help you.
Biographical: This poem is about my experience choosing my career path. When I was in Kindergarten I told people that I wanted to be a veterinarian, but quickly found out that they have to put the dogs down, which immediately made me give up that dream. There are a lot of sources or rumors that say veterinarians have the highest suicide rate, which I've heard constantly for a long time. Did it scare me? Yeah. Am I still going to do it? Yeah probably. I read a little NPR transcript, “Why suicide rates are high among veterinary professionals” by Anna Spidel, which goes over a couple of reasons why mental health may be lacking. Vet students like Meghan Lawlor say that they're “striving to still get the best grades and be president of all these clubs, and then it carries on into being a practicing veterinary professional,” (Spidel 4). Many students are overworked which causes an immense amount of anxiety and stress. People within the veterinary field are usually extremely passionate about what they do, and I know for a fact we don't want to ditch our passion because of stress. Of course, it's a little more than stress and anxiety that can lead to a decline in mental health. Doctor Suzanne Tomasi, a former veterinarian, mentions how euthanasia may be a major factor regarding suicide rates, although there's no conclusive data to prove this. She does however, bring up a solution such as “putting stickers with crisis hotline numbers inside of drug lock boxes,” (Spidel 9). With all this in mind, it can be daunting going into the veterinary field. I was definitely hesitant at first but the more I study and the more I've been working with animals, the more I truly love it.
Historical: To be honest, I'm not sure what historical relevance my poem has. Maybe growing up in a culture where veterinary work is seen as sad or a hard job, and it is. As for what inspires my writing style, I'd have to go with more modern poems. I don't have any particular examples, I don't read much in my free time (especially not poems), but older poetry is usually more wordy and has better vocabulary. I'm not much for describing things in great depth and I find that modern poetry, like Rupi Kaur’s work, can be very simplistic. Despite me not enjoying any of her work, and I've been known to criticize it, people can enjoy the simplicity of it. I hope people can enjoy the simplicity of mine as well in some way.
Social: I really hate when people dance around subjects, or rather when they're not straight to the point. I would say that's a big social factor that inspires my work, I'm pretty blunt when I write. In real life I'm not as blunt sounding to be honest, it's more so how my brain thinks of things. I always appreciate honesty and when people can explain things efficiently, so that's what I usually go for. I understand why it might not be so interesting for people to read though.
Literary: I don't usually write poems, I find them hard to structure. Or maybe I find it hard to make them sound poetic, but what does that even mean anyway? It was challenging for me to write but I think it was a nice change. I'd like to try more poetry, I think poets have a nice way with words, compared to me especially. I usually write memoirs or fictional work, so my main issue is trying to fit an idea within a poem. Poems don’t have to be short of course, there are plenty of longer poems, but I’ve always thought if I wrote a long poem it would just look like an essay or a memoir. I’m glad I tried something different this time around, even if it’s not amazing or anything special.
Artistic: Drawing is always something I've loved, I'd say it's another passion of mine. I'd love to incorporate drawings into my work, but that's a little hard on google docs ha. When I'm feeling emotional I usually draw first before I feel like writing. Putting my feelings into words is pretty hard but drawing always felt like a better way of getting it out. I draw pretty much every time I'm in class, I swear I'm listening, if anything it helps me focus. It's so important to me, especially after I spent the entirety of high school barely drawing, like the passion for it came back out of nowhere.
Works Cited
Spidel, Anna. “Why Suicide Rates Are High among Veterinary Professionals.” NPR, NPR, 19 Dec. 2023, www.npr.org/transcripts/1220443869.
Olivia Loftin is an HCC student majoring in Biology. She is currently working in dog grooming full time while doing school part time.