Raising Bumblebees

Fri, 07/24/2015 - 02:58 -- jhsu320

Mommy and daddy raised me to be a butterfly

But when I broke out of my cocoon

They were met with yellow and black stripes

I was a bumblebee

 

Since the minute I moved to a mountain town

As the little girl whose parents spoke broken English

As the little girl who didn't know why she was different

As the little girl with the glasses who tried so hard in classes

That she skipped second grade

And laid her life on the line for middle school geometry

And later joined all the teams

But still never quite fit in

 

I've always been that bumblebee

 

It's been 17 years since my first breath

But now I'm trying to breathe new life into me

Ap Gov, Ap Physics, Ap Calc

Hey, please, look past test results and high school scores

I voted for an appeal to truly be me

Accelerated from thoughts of med school to a business degree

I'm the girl who integrated herself with idiosyncrasy

 

I saw the world from a different perspective

Chose a drama elective over a Bio credit

Saved myself the trouble of double the notes

And made a note to follow my dreams

My classmates paid for summer college at Harvard

But I found a heart for UT Austin's speech and debate camp

And a passion in forensics

 

No, no, no, not like CSI

More like, see, as I, show you my knowledge of the latest Chinese elections

Erect a speech with no preparation

Mention an opinion on the NSA

I can talk about gender roles for 10 minutes straight

 

Two plus two equals

Prioritizing the perfect five

All my life I've heard whispers of

Prestige

Ivy League

Top Ten

Pick up your pen

 

Teachers told me to write in pencil so I could correct my mistakes

I insisted on ink and paid in broken college essays

B, A, C, I never felt like the letters could arrange themselves properly

The right way wasn't my way

So this time around, I've created a new array

Essays have always seemed boring to me anyway
 

I may not know how to build a PC

But I can create an acrylic masterpiece

I can dance on stage and memorize lines

Spit rhymes into a microphone

I love being a bumblebee

 

Still, schools just seem to ignore the rest

All they see are the results of my last test

Forget the paintbrushes, the pictures, the mic

Light those poems on fire

Because we're spitting med students and lawyers

 

But your honor, I object

To rule 36 ACT

I've played with bullets

And I'll pull the trigger on another stereotypical student

You know what I'm like

But do you really know me?

 

I can debate my way into your heart

I can show you the art I've formed through spoken word poetry

I can give you a real glimpse into this girl I call me

 

I'll never have the beautiful wings and radiant colors that everyone expected

But what did they expect from a 18 year old comp-sci studying, art loving, New York born, Mexican hispanic community raised, diversity-glazed, first-year college junior?

 

You've leafed through stacks of butterflies

But I hope you'll remember the bumblebee 

This poem is about: 
Me
My family
My community
My country
Our world
Poetry Terms Demonstrated: 

Comments

Additional Resources

Get AI Feedback on your poem

Interested in feedback on your poem? Try our AI Feedback tool.
 

 

If You Need Support

If you ever need help or support, we trust CrisisTextline.org for people dealing with depression. Text HOME to 741741