Let me stop you for a second,

during your lecture on negative exponents,

and ask if you saw yourself here,

at age seventeen,

talking about a subject you were probably failing,

And do you ever feel

like we're in some vicious cycle here?

Getting good grades in high school

to get into a good college

so that we will get a good job

in order to start a good family

where we will lecture our kids about the importance of getting good grades in high school?

And when does it end?

Will it all pay off,

all this hard work,

all these tests and numbers that determine if we're contributing members of society,

will it all pay off when we're sixty

old, tired, and ready to sit back and relax?

Is this where it all leads to?

Should we deny ourselves the fun of going out and doing something crazy

while we're young

so we can stay home and study

in order to make that grade?

Is that where our lives will lead?

If we're living for our parents,

will we expect our kids to do the same?

So they don't end up leading a hard life —

the life of someone who didn't go to college?

You might as well put my SAT score on my tombstone

because that's all we ever talk about

all my friends ever ask about

all these college applications ever ask about —

Does that 1720 define me now?

Do these negative exponents define me now?

Will these missed opportunities for parties and adventures

be made up when I'm sixty

watching my grandchildren grow up

and my children are laying out the steps for a good life for them?

And will I grab my children by the shoulders

and shake them

and scream at them

and recite Walden like we're studying now in class

that they must suck the marrow out of life,

that life isn't numbers and ranks and statistics,

and that I regret making that A

because I missed my best friend's birthday to study?

But I'm scared

I'm scared of what else life has to offer

for the failures, the burn outs, the high school graduates,

because of what my parents have told me

what my school has told me

what you have told me

that I will not lead a comfortable life if I don't sit in class and take notes and study and pass tests.

I'm sorry for interrupting.

Please, pick up where you left off.

I'm scared I won't pass this test,

so I'll skip my lunch and come in for tutorials.