I remember the dread that surged through my soul.

The sight of the school building transformed into a prison

But I knew if I tried to escape I’d trip over my own fears.

They say education equals future happiness.

The future is eons away.

All I know is this existence.

All I hear is the incessant name-calling, blackmail, slander.

All I learn is new words that rhythm with useless and worthless.

All the time you’d find me in the Nurses office

My body rejecting the poisonous hatred in my veins

I could no longer feel anything.

No pain, sorrow, or joy.

When I finally shut out the world

 My heart pounded in my chest like someone locked out barefoot in the snow.

It remembered what my head had forgotten long ago

It lives, and it’s my life to live

My life to regain

And from that heart evolved courage

The courage to be myself, love myself

Now standing eons away

I look back proudly at that building

I am truly wiser

Happier

I am courageously me.