Writer Spotlight: Adryanna Arriaga

Adryanna Arriaga’s “Crushed” 

Adryanna is a First-Year Communications major. She published work in her high school’s newspaper, with no other publications, but received awards for her writing from the Josephine Wicker Kutcher Memorial society. Her inspirations range from Joe Tex’s music to Abbie Hoffman's standup to her senior year English teacher, Andy Sanderson.  

Trigger Warning: Deals with themes of Sexual Violence—Vieiwer discretion advised. 

Back and forth. Up and down. I scrubbed my skin. 

It never looked dirty, but I knew the truth. 

I scrubbed until it turned red and from red it turned to blood. Layers of skin clogging the drain. The bath was overflowing with tears. Under the red water I screamed. Stiffly inhaled.  

My lungs filled with water. For a second. A split second. I felt clean. Pure. 

I felt free. Not free like a bird, but free to move. 

I no longer felt your weight on top of me. 

The weight of what you did to me.