We are competitors

Everyday at the mark of 7:10 AM,

the bell chimes for our competition to begin

We compete for the front seats to take better notes

We compete for the back seats to sleep discreetly

We compete for...

* "What did you get on the Biology unit test?"

   "68%..."

   "98%" with a smirk on his goddamn stupid face. *

We compete for teachers' favorites

We roll our eyes at those who talk to teachers after school

And those who offer to help teachers pass out papers

We also feel like slapping ourselves as we hand expensive presents to our teachers each holiday,

with a 51% purpose of gaining their favor

 

We are ironic

We feel a pang of jealousy as our friends win awards

We feel betrayal when our friends participate in competitions without telling us

We also feel smug when we are the ones winning awards

We also feel superior knowing that our friends weren't able to participate in those competitions

We think, "Now my college applications will look much better than theirs."

 

We are selfish

We want the best for ourselves

Our friends come second

Or maybe even third

Because in the world of college applications and rejections,

there exists no friendship

We think, "No matter what, I have to get into that college."

 

We are fake

We sleep an average of 3 hours out of the 24 hours in a day

We fake smiles

We fake interest

We fake compliments

We fake laughs

We fake being okay

We fake we fake we fake we fake

Until our cheek twitches and our jaw aches

 

We are scared

Scared of what we have become

Scared of what we are right now

Scared of college and its competition

Scared of the workplace and its competition

Our competition doesn't just end here

Isn't that scary?

But fear isn't what will get us into college

It's good grades, SAT scores, AP classes, sports, extra curriculars, awards, and scholarships that'll push us to the next level of competition

Colleges want to see

"Genuineness"

"Originality"

"Show us you aren't just doing this for college."

Oh, come on.

 

"We" throughout this poem might only apply to me

 

(Not every student feels like this

 I wish the best for those genuine students

 You guys will be the ones succeeding)

^And this is how easy it is to spew out fake crap

 

But thanks for reading and,

I hope you have a wonderful day :)