The apathy spreads thick, smothering,
Coating over even the most overachieving freshmen
The procrastination perseveres
—just wait one more hour, one more
episode on Netflix—
The late assignments
—which ones can I afford to skip?
what can I do during class tomorrow?—
School talk no longer takes precedence,
Gossip runs wild
And class discussions devolve into heated
debates about social and political issues
Or sharing of social news and weekend escapades
Teachers fruitlessly trying to get back on track
Above all, the overarching and omnipresent
whispers of “college”—a mystical fantasy land these
students have spent their entire lives
preparing to attend.