Counterclock Journal kindly published my story ‘Thought It Was Enough’ in the June 2020 Issue 9. I finished a different version of this story in March 2018 and began submitting it as ‘It’s All a Test.’ After receiving very helpful critiques from two journal editors and a writing colleague, it went through three more major rewrites before acceptance. The story received a total of 41 rejections. And one acceptance! Thanks, Counterclock!

The story was inspired by families I got to know while teaching kindergarten. Despite the challenges the families faced, they were generally resilient and eager for their children to progress in life through schooling. I was impressed how families, specifically young children, accepted difficulties and worked so hard at exploring and learning. Sadly, their positive attitude was not always enough to overcome the systemic oppression these families faced. Through my story, I tried to portray a young mother’s thoughts as she saw these real-life hardships engulf her child.