I found a bug on the sidewalk today
And I picked it up to bring to you
Because I know how much you like bugs
But as it crawled in the darkness of my intertwined fingers
I realized how much it wanted to fly
And I didn’t want to be the one to stifle that
So I opened my hands and it flew into the sky
And I realized that life isn’t meant to be lived in a cage
Because that is one messed up life
Living behind bars
Only seeing the daylight
But never feeling the burn

I remember when scraping you knees brought tears to your eyes
But now I want to scrape every bone in my body
And rise with the skyscrapers
To touch the clouds and shoot for the moon
And even though I’ve missed the bullseye,
This red cape has caught the bulls eye
And I’m no superman,
I’m just a girl looking for a average man.
My gun is cocked and loaded
But the game of russian roulette always has somebody losing
And all I can do is hope it’s not me
But hope seems to only be brought by Obama these days
And I don’t know if I want his hope
When it’s only brought for the praise
And its bought through a haze

And those kids with their bugs and scraped knees
They aren’t learning music or history or art
Because the truth is they aren’t learning anything at all
And 10 years from now, they’re going to be sitting in the mall with a baby on their hip
And an unreachable dream on the tip of their tongues
And it gets swallowed down by every glare of all the other mothers walking there.

But the truth of it is
It’s hardly their fault because
Their education was taken from them
The money their school lacked
Was shipped overseas
And given to soldiers
And I appreciate my freedoms as much as everyone else
But not when they come at the cost life
Not when innocent people are dying
Not when I know that your friend or my brother or her sister could die
I don’t want that kind of freedom
Because that’s being bought at much too high a price.

For freedom can be found elsewhere
Freedom and hope never come from governments
Or rulers, because they have us down on our knees
And the cold metal of their guns is felt on the back of our necks
And they force us to pledge allegiance
To something we don't believe in

So with my right hand over my bleeding heart.
I’m saying ***** it, because I don’t want it
I turned 18 and signed up to vote
But I never check a box in my life,
Except those ones to get into college
And when I checked those, the pen felt so heavy
Because I knew they were boxes that many didn’t get to check

So here’s to the kids that have never had someone to pick them up when they fall
Here’s to the teen parents whose own parents led them astray
Here’s to the soldiers fighting in an unending war
Here’s to the kids in the ghetto who are looked down upon because of the color of their skin
You know, the ones that never had a chance to begin
Here’s to the kids that are chasing their dreams and breaking the stereotypes

Forget what they said
You are strong and you are capable
So follow your dreams
And don’t look back
Run towards your goals
And never lose track
You can be whoever you want to be

Don’t forget those times when you said you wanted to be a doctor
Or a lawyer
Or an astronaut
Don’t be swept up into the world of I cant’s and I don’t know hows
But leave that world behind,
Flying high into the sky
Be the heroes, the super-mans, the ones that bring true hope
You’re the freedom
You’re the hope
You’re the star of a black sky and a sold-out show
You’re the one that everyone wants know


And when you feel caged in,
Remember to open your hands
Let go
And find your freedom