We all had to go to school
And at first we thought it was cool
As time went on friends got close
And lunch was the class we loved the most
Our teachers tried to fill our brains with what they knew
And as the seasons changed, we grew.
We laughed and we cried
When tests came around some of us wanted to die
The shiny, slithering, slick slides filled our hearts with delight
While division made us want to take a nap
The swings’ back and forth motion made our imaginations take flight
And learning about context clues made us feel trapped
When asked, “What do you want to be?” we all cheered
“Princess!” “President!” “Racecar Driver!” and “Rock star!”
And the adults just smiled and laughed thinking we were a little weird
However, no one truly cared, including us, we just wanted to stay who we were
May Day Play Day was the stuff of legends
Water balloons flew and music was blasted
We always pushed our craziness to the edge and
The memories were so fun that we wish it would have lasted forever
However, the desks grew small
And the playground became weary
We realized we had to answer the call
Even though the rumors we had heard were eerie
To put it frankly, middle school was a war zone
Friendships were being forged
Identities were being discovered
Then a disruptive nuisance decided to send the world into quarantine
Time stopped.
Connections faltered.
The already lengthy divide between us became a vast chasm
The silly weird questions our elementary teachers asked us started to become real.
When we could have crumpled under the pressure
We chose to let the pressure make us stronger.
When the world decided to go dark
We decided to glow brightly.
We entered high school resilient and united in each other
Not necessarily in ourselves
The question “What do you want to be?” whispered in our heads
It kept us awake at night
Time flew by
Freedom was given with parallel parking and Bruster’s jobs
Still the question beckoned.
Still…we didn’t have answers
If the question was a trickle before.. It was a tidal wave now
Spinning us around until the words felt like they would shatter us
But I beg you to remember
Remember who we truly are… what is truly important
For thirteen years teachers, parents, mentors have asked us
“What do you want to be?”
Well adults… here is our answer
We will be determined and courageous and kind and caring and honest and loving and wise and compassionate and loyal and just and forgiving and strong
But most importantly we will be US.
