When Myanne Zachary, junior, found out about the mobbing of the U.S. Capitol building, she was in a state of utter disbelief. 

“I was shocked,” Myanne said. “The very first headline I saw of it, I thought it was fake to be honest. I was like, ‘there’s no way this is happening. That’s so ridiculous. This is crazy.’ Then, within one headline being posted, I saw seven more.”

Myanne was one of millions of Americans who watched in disbelief as the Capitol, which was housing members of Congress working to confirm the election results of 2020, was overrun by outraged supporters of former President Donald Trump. This crisis comes weeks before the highly anticipated inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, occurring today. Struck by the reality of the situation—the reality that has since impacted every realm of the political, social and civil sector—Myanne, like all Americans, was forced to reckon with the numerous connotations that the storming could hold for the country.

“(Initally) I felt really stupid because I was thinking, ‘not in America, not in the country I live in, not a three hour plane ride away,’” Myanne said. “(Now), I’ve been thinking about it for a while, especially in APUSH (AP U.S. History). Since we’ve been learning about the reconstruction, I have been really trying to look into where we came from, and how we got here. I haven’t found the answers yet.”