Dim lights and blurred screens
Eyes burning, longing for sleep
The words trail off into lines of chaos. 
Once pristine and neat, the handwriting progresses
Into scrawls of an unruly, unreadable mess

A sigh can be heard to anyone listening. 

The planner lands on the table with a quiet thud
reviewing the assignments: 
Physics questions, solved
over the course of three hours and frustrated cries, but solved nevertheless.
A history article, 40 pages long, to be read by 8am
Thirty-seven pages remaining. 
Calculus problems left to answer

In the dark solitude of my room, everything aligns 
to push me over the edge, I figure the goal was
Teachers, parents, the weight of the very world itself
on my shoulders 

Choices were always given, yet never respected
They hand-fed me into a cycle of demanding perfection, 
locking me down under the “gifted student” label
All while pretending I chose that title 

I didn’t. But it stuck like molasses and I stayed

Exhaustion rolls over me and sleep wins 
In my dreams, I see a perfect fantasy
Naturally talented, naturally brilliant, naturally pretty
free of all control, I soar to unreachable heights 
flying with no expectations, I thrive
If only I could live out my dreams