Excerpts From Stories I'll Never Write

SCHOOL: A Poem

SCHOOL:
This is the smooth transition from NJHS to NHS that only a few experience. Only half will make the cut. This is wanting to cry at the sight of the kid having a panic attack outside of a classroom. Heck, this is being the kid who’s having the panic attack outside of the classroom. This is killing yourself to get an “A” scribbled onto an essay in red ink. This is having purple crescent moons stamped under your eyes that no makeup can even begin to cover. We had to try. This is the star quarterback being kicked off the team because he finally cracked, and is barely pulling a D- in math. This is doubling over in heartbreak when you see a “B” on a paper because even though a “B” is still above average, and way above a passing grade, but you know it still isn’t good enough. This is being afraid to ask questions because you don’t want to be labeled or treated like you’re stupid. This is an unhealthy amount of caffeine. This is forgetting to eat regularly because all there is to focus on is that one assignment. This is that one smart-mouth kid who lies to the ACT advisor that he has ADHD just to get more test taking time, and he isn’t doing it to be slick, he’s doing it because he genuinely needs more time because he never learned the material. He never learned it because his teacher never helped him, and all at the same time, he doesn’t want to disappoint his parents with bad test scores. This is kids who are as right-brained as they come, but can’t pass a CBA for their lives. Did you know that the average high school student experiences the same levels of anxiety as the average patient in a psychiatric institution in the 1950’s? I bet you didn’t, because they don’t teach you that in school. This is not knowing how to balance a checkbook, buy a house. This is not knowing what a credit score is. This is not knowing how to pay taxes. This is knowing that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, but having your mind short-circuit when asked “How are you?”. You know? We don’t know. We really don’t. The answer to that wasn’t on the study guide. This is usually knowing the answer, but rarely knowing ourselves.