They told me when I was younger
That I could grow up to whatever I wanted to be.
I could be
An artist
A movie star
An astronaut
A scientist
Anything my imagination could create.
Yet when I began to age,
They started to bend the rules:
I could be whatever I wanted to be
But I had to
Make this much money
Be this successful
Have this much intelligence
Lead this kind of life.
There is a predetermined mold that I am
Expected to fit in order to be
Accepted
By the world.
And I screamed,
“HAPPINESS!
THAT’S ALL I WANT TO WORK FOR!”
However, they couldn’t hear me,
My silent cries were drowning
In a frigid, dying life.
I tried other solutions,
Something else they might take seriously:
Adventure
Passion
Peace
They were still looking for normal answers:
CEO
Professor
Politian.
They were eager to ship me away to cubicle life,
Never to be heard of again.
My sole job
The only task ever assigned and designed for me
Was to be me,
Happy, passionate, creative me
Who would change the world
In big and small ways
Who would shatter the mold I was sentenced to
So that others may know
In a bleak world,
All we need is a little color.