This photo story is one regarding generational pressure, and the effects that such pressure has on women in college. Specifically, this photo story focused on the “day in the life” of a Social Work major at Saginaw Valley State University, named Gabriella Stoinski, 22, of Waterford, MI. Personally, Gabriella has, throughout this project, expressed interest in continuing her passion of working with young children (primarily toddlers/pre-schoolers) in a daycare. However, Gabriella’s parents believe that she should instead focus on finding a job in her career field. Her mother, especially, has expressed these feelings/beliefs,as she herself has been in the field of social work since Gabriella was a child. Now, Gabriella finds herself torn: should she continue working at the daycare, or follow in her mother’s footsteps, and possibly become a renowned social worker? The daily disagreements between Gabriella and her parents tends to put a lot of unnecessary stress and anxiety on Gabriella. She has informed me, during this project that “My mom constantly pressuring me to succeed makes me feel extremely stressed, anxious, and some days, even frustrated or overwhelmed”. Later that same day, she confided in me that “Sometimes, I feel like I can’t even really relax at all, since she and my dad are always pestering me about ‘using my time wisely’ or about how I need to hurry up and get my Bachelor’s degree so that I can start applying to social work jobs”.
Captions:
Top Left: On Saturday morning, Mar. 4, 2026, Social Work major Gabriella Stoinski, 22, works on an online assignment for her Criminal Justice course. She sits cross-legged on her couch, holding her computer, as she works. As Stoinski said about the image, “In the first image, I was working on an assignment online for my Criminal Justice course, which I’m currently taking at Saginaw Valley State University. I was ready to be done with the assignment, it was due the next day, so I wanted to get it finished on time”.
Top Right: On Saturday afternoon, Mar. 4, 2026, Gabriella Stoinski reads an article online as part of an assignment for her Political Science course. She has difficulty comprehending the article, and subsequently gets frustrated. As Stoinski said about her actions here, “I was reading an article for my Political Science course, as part of a separate assignment, which was due three days later. I wanted to get on top of things, since it was difficult to understand/comprehend. It was a tough article, and made me stressed out”.
Middle Right: On Thursday evening, Apr. 9, 2026, Gabriella works on various assignments while having dinner after a long day at work. The events of the day overwhelm her, and she is exhausted.
In Stoinski’s words, “I was working on homework, and preparing for finals after a long shift at the Daycare, where I work. I felt exhausted and overwhelmed. I wanted to sit down and eat, but knew that I had work to get done”.Bottom Left: On Thursday evening, Apr. 9, 2026, Gabriella sits reading a text from her mother, Jenel, in regards to Gabriella’s online homework assignments. Already being exhausted, this only overwhelms her further. As Stoinski said, “My mom texted me, asking if I had finished them, and I said yes. However, her constantly pressuring me to succeed makes me feel stressed and frustrated”.
Bottom Middle: On Thursday night, Apr. 9, 2026, Gabriella takes some time to try and relax by cuddling with her “Chocolate” Brown Lab, Kikah. However, Gabriella still feels as though she can’t fully relax. Stoinski commented here, saying, “I spent some time after dinner laying with my dog, Kikah, while scrolling through social media, in an attempt to relax. However, I feel as though I can’t fully relax sometimes, since the parental pressure is always present, making me feel as though I could be using my time wisely, or as though I could be getting work done instead”.
Bottom Right: On Thursday evening, Apr. 9, 2026, Gabriella experiences an anxiety episode due to the stressful events that day. At this point, she is extremely overwhelmed and beginning to panic. As Stoinski stated that same night, “I’m contemplating how I manage to balance work and school, while also making time for relationships. It can be a lot at times, and I get stressed out/frustrated easily, especially with the added parental pressure”.
About the Photographer
Bella O’Mara is in the junior year of her B.A. in Journalism at Oakland University, in Rochester Hills, MI. At 22, she aspires to work in either a novel publishing house, or for a prominent newspaper (Detroit Free Press, New York Times, Washington Post, etc.) She speaks several languages conversationally, including: English (native), German, French, and Spanish. Her main hobbies are: tennis, hockey, reading, and photography. She works at a Starbucks Coffee Co. location in nearby Bloomfield Hills, and has done so for the past 2 years.
Isabella O'Mara 