Beep!…Beep!…Beep!…Beep!…Beep!…Beep!
That all so familiar sound marks the start of an exhaustingly long day.
Waking up at six to go to school to have a full schedule with no lunch period,
Waking up at six to go to swim practice in an ice cold pool,
Waking up at six to go to B-211 and staying there til midnight in attempts to finish the yearbook,
Waking up at six to go to my room at the end of the day to finish my homework,
Waking up at six to go to bed at three in the morning and starting all over again.
But I do this because I want to, not out of force,
Well, everything besides school and homework.

In my little world, I play a significant role,
With friends who hang out with me, who tell jokes with me, and who do crazy things with me.
School is a different story.
With 600 students to compete with,
I feel insignificant and want to try harder.
In relations to my community and the world,
I am nothing.
I feel depressed and restless.
But that only drives me to work harder and make my presence known.

I do all these things, but I still feel like I don’t do enough.
Honors societies and colleges all expect us to have leadership roles, volunteer hours,
academic awards, extra-curricular activities, and work experience.
But there just are not enough hours in the day.
What happened to the charming childhood charisma?
The careless times, the lovely friends, the unwanted but secretly great naps,
the perfectly sized juice boxes, and the feeling of wanting to stay up late.
I sacrifice all these things,
But in order to get what I want.
So when I’m older, I’ll have the stability and independence to do all those things again.

Beep!…Beep!…Beep!…Beep!…Beep!…Beep!
That all so familiar sound marks the start of an exhaustingly long day.
Waking up at six to go to Starbucks to get the office’s outrageous order,
Waking up at six to go to the ICU and taking care of deserving sick children,
Waking up at six to go to the airport to go teach in countries in need of pediatric training,
Waking up at six to go to amazing countries and learn about different cultures,
Waking up at six to go to work and to help people in need,
Waking up at six to go to bed after my night shift ends and starting all over again.
My future is bright even though I might think the present is dull and thorny,
It is one that I want and one that I have to work for.
It is one where I will be caring for people, loving on people, and helping the people.
It is one where I have made it to where I want to be. 
One filled with fun memories, great friends and strangers, much needed naps, margaritas instead of juice boxes, and staying up late to help the world.