I try.
Shouldn’t that be enough
People always say ‘try your best’
They just leave out ‘but that doesn’t count’

Gym.
graded on skill
But I can’t be as athletic as anyone else
I am just strong enough to be mediocre

Honors.
The expectation that you are doing a higher level
So you must be better than regular
You must have a better brain

AP.
You have to take these to be ‘excellent’
To be a success in life
To start off college right

Writing.
You have to be clear and concise
Say what you mean
And use all evidence clearly

I know I’m not the best
I know that I dance around the question
Make up half my evidence
And string you along through a tangent

But why does that matter?
Why is everything so clearly defined?
Structure is a certain way or it’s wrong
Why do I have to follow this

So what if I don’t use all the evidence given
So what if I take a different perspective than you
So what if I use confusing language because I’m under duress
So what if I have my own method of organization

Why is that wrong?

I have a limited amount of time
I have to use all of the documents
I have a certain method of organization thrust upon me
I have to write under duress

Why does this have to matter?
Why do I have that limited amount of time?
Why do I have to do things your way?
Why do I need to use everything?

Writing should be an expression of what I think
What I feel
What I do
What I am.

Life.
They say live life to the fullest
But how can I
When they say how I should live my life.