Life of a High School Teenager

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We get punished for not meeting your expectations 

Of getting the grades and acing our examinations

With disappointment slapped across your faces

The feeling of shame has become our number one basis

 

You act as if it were easy from head to toe

But excuse me, when was the last time you went school?

Oh yeah, about more than twenty years ago

 

Step into our generation where we live by the motto YOLO

As for you, you lived at a time where culture was on the go

You Only Live Once, the motto of the 00s

Love to Love You Baby, probably the only motto that you know

 

We live at a time where school determines our path

As crazy as it may seem, it's being determined by things like English and math

We live in a world where school entry means everything 

Without it we'd be working at a fast food restaurant, making close to nothing

 

Your time was different, different than ours

With better technology like flat screens and high tech cars

So please don't compare our present to your past

In this race we call school we still wish to make you proud even if we come in last

 

Accept the fact that we cannot all be number one

Allow us to be happy being young and have fun

Deep down we are sorry we could not live out your dreams

But dreams were meant for our own happiness no matter how selfish it seems

 

In this world, dreams have been erased

Overlooked, torn, shattered, and replaced

Replaced by your own of making sure we're the top rank

Forgetting about what makes us happy, only caring about how much we'll make in our future bank

 

If we gave you our life, then what life is truly ours that we live

Life is based on OUR choices, something we cannot simply just give

In the end, we are done being pushed and letting you make us feel like a dunce

Instead, we chose to live our own life because we have to remember "You Only Live Once"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

Selena Esteban

This poem was meant to inspire students who live in that cycle of school, where parents are pressuring them to be the best. The truth is, not everybody can be the best. It's time for students to realize what they want, not what they think they want. Dreams are important to a person, so do not let anyone take them away from you. Live your life, not someone elses and enjoy being who you are. 

Many people may hate the term YOLO because of how overused it was; however, it does have a meaning which coincidentally ties to the meaning of this poem. In other words please do not let the cover photo affect your thoughts about this poem. ---"Do not judge a book by its cover"

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