This body, a catalyst to understand the world I live in
Carried to decipher and decode society’s standards
Eyes witness the crime of conformation
Ears hear the hypocrisy and ignorance
The tongue, so hard to hold
And loquacious lips act as a fully functioning machine
To right their wrongs
And always yearning to ask, why do you choose to be myopic?

Princeton Review’s Word Smart lazily thrown into my purse
For me to memorize the words on the ruffled pages
To score high on the SAT
A test that determines my yellow brick road
Whether I will have to ask, do you want fries with that?
Whether I will make a grand paycheck that quenches my famished purse?
Anxieties of my future have an ever growing vocabulary

Assignments, old exams, quizzes jammed into bursting binder
Always at my side (unfortunately)
Weighing me down while holding me up
Full of worries
Do I stay up until three o’ clock in the morning to finish those AP History focus questions?
Should I take five AP classes next year so my GPA significantly rises?
Do I spend my weekends studying while I see classmates playing hide and seek?
Although I’ve already been found
Why do I have to work twice as hard as those who succeed effortlessly?
Why do I feel the need to surpass the achievements of my exalted brother?
Is there reason to my ambition, obsession, desire? (the word changes day to day)
Is this all worth it? (my self doubt is nothing new)
I am scared of being average

Debate evidence neatly organized in my partner’s pink folders
Find a home in my backpack
Show me how to think
Our healthcare system is flawed,
And the poor suffer the most, reform must to take place (for their sake)
The Patriot Act is unconstitutional
Political agendas reveal themselves
Opinions, thoughts, ideas, and knowledge loom over me like a cloud
Lightening bolts express a change

The gold peace symbol in my backpack shines without ever dimming
More precious than the precious metal it is made of
Peace, love, and morals illuminate
Because of values my parents lucratively taught me
This radiance makes me who I am