at 8 years old
i thought i could fly
i thought i could be a superhero
like superman
or batman
i used to put on my red sheets
and wear them as a cape
but they said it was just a child's dream

at 14 years old
i wanted to be a doctor
i wanted to heal everyone
because my mother died that year
and i never even saw her
but they said i couldn't do it
that i wasn't smart enough
no college would accept me

at 16 years old
i lowered my ambitions
i wanted to be a policeman
because i didn't need college
and everyone told me i wouldn't make it
so i conformed
to what they thought of me
and became what im not

at 17 years old
i hated myself
because i felt
i could never be anybody
never do anything
never be better
than what they said i would be

yesterday my dad
told me to sign papers
to join the military
so i agreed

i took out my lighter
and burned them in front of him
" *******! " i yell
" your the one who amounted to nothing "