They say these are the best years, but all I feel is tired.
Waking up too early,
dragging my body through halls and deadlines,
learning things that feel like weights instead of wings.

School drains me.
Not just my energy,
But my spirit.
My time.
My youth.
Gone to schedules and rules, to doing it ‘the right way’ which really just means their way.

Born.
School.
Work.
Die.
Is that it?
Is that really the blueprint I was handed?
Grow up too fast,
make choices too big,
all while being told what to think,
How to act,
What succes looks like.

But what if i don’t want that?
What if I want more than just surviving in someone else’s structure?
I wasn’t born to be a gear in a machine I never chose.

I want to live,
Not just exist.