It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,
If only I was as eloquent as Charles Dickens,
I could easily describe my high school experience
In a sentence
But a sentence with a few words wouldn’t necessarily be enough
To show the emotions I felt
Or the actions I did
During my 4 years at Millbrook
I went from being an awkward, bubbly, baby-faced teenager
To an even more awkward, impatient, and slightly opinionated adult.
I transitioned from wanting to be the center of attention
To finding comfort in solitude and shadows.
I went from being oblivious to global issues,
To reading the news every morning and volunteering every weekend to aide my community.
I still get nervous when I’m forced to speak in front of crowds,
I still suck at math,
I still hate wearing heels,
I still don’t know what I want to do after college (okay, now that’s kind of bad),
And I still misspell more words than you can imagine,
But that’s all okay because I’ve learned how to accept myself
My mistakes,
And other people.
I think learning the way of acceptance is the intended meaning behind high school.
If you take away the stressful exams, long homework, and excess busywork,
The crowded hallways, loud lunchrooms, and slow walkers,
The fire alarms, the cliques, and bullies,
You find that you are forced to learn how to accept others.
And isn’t that what life's about, in the end?
Accepting others?
I think it is.
***
Am I the female Walt Whitman yet?
***
Am I the female Walt Whitman yet?
This is so cute!!!! I really liked it buddy. I liked how you used the main theme that Whitman used and that was just plain ol' acceptance. I also thought it was incredibly personal just like him as well so ya you're the female Walt Whitman! Kudos on using anaphora too!
ReplyDeleteI like how you used contradiction to show your growth throughout the years of high school. I like how the poem is focused on accepting yourself as well as accepting others. I identify with this poem and think that we have all come a long way from our freshmen year. Great job on your poem!
ReplyDeleteI really love/relate to this poem! I was surprised by how much this reflected my own feelings about high school as I read it,; the images/catalogs were very nice! I liked your choice to use differing length lines, it creates a rhythm and pace. The repetition of some lines and use of contradiction throughout makes the message about change more powerful.
ReplyDeleteI read the first line of this poem and thought "How ironinc!" because I almost wrote a poem exactly like this for my blog post lol. But anyway...I love how simple this poem is and how you reflected your high school experience in a way that we can all relate to however, it's still personal because you included details that only you can identify with. And A+++ on using Walt Whitman style! Just like him, you managed to capture the major theme of unity (somewhat) and acceptance of yourself and others. You also wrote in a style that is easy to analyze without having to break down a bunch of old English metaphors and allusions lol! I think maybe Walk Whitman was a distant cousin of yours ;)
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