The World of School

From kindergarten through elementary school,

 middle through high and for some.... college and beyond. 

School teaches us of the past, of Christopher Columbus, fuedal Europe, Industrial Revolution, the World Wars and everything in between.

School teaches us of the now, the present, and the gifts that it holds.

School teaches of the future, of what might be, of the good and the bad and of what we can do to help if we choose.

But for me, school is where I am shoved into a mold and told to be normal

Normal, just like everyone I'm not.

School is where my imagination is set free to dream and remember,

to wish and hope of college and fitting in to the world around me.

But then I reach the edges of the unbreakable mold,

and hear it cracking as it falls to ground shattering like glass, fragile and elegant.

School is talking to friends about life, love, family, dreams of running away and fears of what is to come

Until we go and play badminton, or as my friends call it

“Hitting yourself with a racket.”

Planning dreams too impossible to ever come true

School is where I am punished for being different

Learning style, social interests, body image, for not advocating for my needs

Emotionally, mentally, physically, socially, verbally different

Different from others

Different from the norm

But what is the norm and is the norm normal?

School is full of different.

So why is it so painful to be different?

Doing incomprehensible homework, reading endless words, listening to soothing rap,

And feeling the building move, feeling the shakes of an earthquake

The shaking of the building as people walk across the room,

the shaking that no one else feels takes me back to a time of darkness,

a time of confusion, chaos, despair, of Haiti.

No! Stop! 

Take a breathe, focus, remember where I am.

California, school, not Haiti, separated from my family, 

hearing screams of pain, of loss, and unthinkable panic.

School is where we grow and learn about the world.

School is where my dreams of a supernatural world are crushed,

Where I am told to think the same as everybody else,

to think of reality, of the future, of who I want to be.

Math, music, multiply, mental mumbling, and marbles spilling from my brain.

Miss Fong calling for quiet, explaining the lesson of the day

This is a language that I semi understand and have yet to speak 

Minutes pass and bells ring,

 as I weave through the maze of hallways to get to class early.

School is where I lose myself in knowledge, in growth, in beauty, and in mental pain

School makes me see reality, know reality and only reality.

School is where I am challenged and tried,

Waiting for me to cry out “no stop, that’s enough! I can’t do it!”

But they don’t listen; no one listens.

 Waiting for minutes to pass as if staring at an endless sand glass,

listening to Grifo rant makes me smile as his rants match my mental mustang running as fast as the wind but taking only moments to pause and eat a thought.

 “Sugar lips, goombahs,” then great humans leave the room

But don’t forget to push in your chairs.

 Home again.

School teaches us to learn,

To learn from the world and the people around us.

To respect those who know and help the ones that don't

School helps us succeed in reality...

But is reality real? Or is it just an excuse we all use?

 An ecstatic Ms.K jumping about the room like a gazelle leaping through the tall grass

Alchemist, Odyssey, Weep, Brave, Catcher and Johnny have joined us throughout the year

Writing novels, conditioning, poetry, and CCQCs

School is where I meet friends of all kinds

Shy, kind, careless, careful, weird, normal, and smart.

My friends and I talk, but do we truly know each other?

When at school, do we show a reflection of ourselves that we want people to see,

Instead of showing who we really are?

Mr.Martz chatting away, read about the exciting life of a Wiccan girl, do homework,

Debate about life, and wait for tutorial

 Hanging with a very chatty Madison doing homework

School judges us on who we are, inside and out.

We are all different, no two alike.

School shows us that we are all similar and also different

It helps us expand and learn about our differences,

And shows us what and who we might become.

Doc telling stories of his adventures, and proud of who he knows

A geeky nerd, so cute in how he brags and looks as if he is a little overexcited kid waiting for candy

Cyanobacteria, metamorphic, conglomerate, volcanic, and ecobottles

Await us all in 414

Planning plots, downfalls and success stories

School cuts open our boxes, to show us the world

It expands our thinking, telling us to dream big,

and to be successful in our adventures.

Never give up and try, try again.

Jasper, the crazed dramatic

The one who won't listen

He's so sure he can do it all, while we just sit to watch it all fall

Finally I'm free from this eternity, and get to go home just to be me.

Life may be unfair but that doesn't mean we have to help it be that way.