Filling the Shoes

A young man sits in science class,

sketching on a notepad.

His time is wasted there.

His head is filled,

not with elements, planets, or neutrons,

but with color schemes, hatching, and two-point perspective.

A girl drools on her desk in mathematics.

Why should she be concerned if she learns?

She got home from work at 10:30,

finished her homework at 12:30,

and her teacher is reading straight from a dusty textbook,

probably the same one her mother was taught from.

He isn’t concerned that she sleeps;

he works for the pay check

Thirty-four on his ACT,

 Ivy-leagues throwing money at him,

but he has had enough of school.

It has never challenged him,

but has left him feeling bored.

 He wants, has always wanted, something challenging,

and believes that he can only find it,

outside of learning.

The top of her class,

she stands at the podium,

thrilled with all she has accomplished,

and the future that she has set up for herself.

She is given a standing ovation because of her speech,

Her counselor says,

“They have made it, they worked hard for this moment.”

She thinks to herself,

‘Isn’t this about achievement?

It’s more than simply persevering:

my class and I fought to graduate,

while others quit,

so we could make a better future for ourselves.’

We go to school,

for more than lectures and homework assignments,

and certainly for more than a piece of paper (diploma).

We want to prepare for a future.

We will be the next generation of leaders:

the scientists, politicians, entrepreneurs, artists, engineers, doctors, lawyers, and authors.

We want to be ready.

We are trying to fill big shoes.