There is no doubt that 2020 was difficult year for many students across the state.
But former St George Girls High School student Clarissa Lee used her experience throughout the pandemic to hone her English Extension 2 major work.
Clarissa's hard work paid off because her short story was selected to appear in NESA's 20th Young Writers Showcase.
The Miranda local said she never expected her work to make the final selection.
"When I was writing it, I didn't really want people reading my work because I nervous about what they would think," she said.
"When you write something it becomes a part of you so I was worried about how people would react to it.
"It was a big shock to me that it was selected."
Clarissa said she spent nine months working on final piece throughout the first outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I wouldn't say COVID was a big focus of my piece but it was a big catalyst," she said.
"I tried to capture some of that despair and uncertainty."
Clarissa, 18, said her short story was an 'existential piece' that focused on the human desire to find meaning in life.
"It reads as two stories happening at the same time," she said.
"One the protagonists is an ordinary guy, a father, who likes to write and the other is a female mathematician."
The talented teen is currently studying a Bachelor of Law and Arts, majoring in Philosophy at the University of NSW.
She said writing the piece had been very rewarding.
"When I was first told that I could do Extension 2 English, I didn't want to do it," she said.
"The idea was daunting but having the freedom to write something big like this was very rewarding.
"You also have something that you can look back on, which is very special."
The young writers to feature in this years' showcase have been selected from more than 1,385 students who studied HSC English Extension 2 in 2020.
The Young Writers Showcase is usually launched at WordeXpress, a partnership between the State Library of NSW and NESA. Due to COVID restrictions, it will go ahead online this year.
