I know that this isn't considered to be a poem, but I believe that poetry comes in many different forms. Poetry is supposed to express emotions and heal your mind. Therefore, today I will be writing about the stress of high school. First, I would like to start off by analyzing the lyrics of one of my favorite songs, Growing Pains by Alessia Cara.

Make my ways through the motions, I try to ignore it

But home's looking farther the closer I get

Don't why I can't see the end

Is it over yet?

A short leash and a short fuse don't match

They tell me it ain't that bad

Now don't you overreact

So I just hold my breath, don't know why

I can't see the sun when young should be fun

And I guess the bad can get better

Gotta be wrong before it's right

Every happy phrase engraved in my mind

And I've always been a go-getter

There's truth in every word I write

But still, the growing pains, growing pains

They're keeping me up at night

Hey, hey, hey, yeah, yeah x2

And I can't hide

Cause growing pains are keeping me up at night

Hey, hey, hey, yeah, yeah x2

And I can't hide

Cause growing pains are keeping me up at night

Starting to look like Ms. Know-it-all

Can't take her own advice

Can't find pieces of peace of mind, I cry

More than I want to admit

But I can't lie to myself, to anyone

Cause phonin' it in isn't any fun

Can't run back to my youth the way I want to

The days my brother was quicker to fool

AM radio, not much to do

Used monsters as an excuse to lie awake

Now the monsters are the ones that I have to face

No band-aids for the growing pains

Hey, hey, hey, yeah x3

No, no band-aid for the growing pains

     Already she talks about trying to survive the pains of growing and trying to go back to being happy again, but yet the happiness is swimming further and further away. People are saying that growing up isn't bad, and are telling her not to overreact, but she realizes that young should be a time where you feel free, but yet she can't see the light at the end of the tunnel yet. The struggle of growing up is affecting her so much, that it's deeply affecting her sleeping schedule.

     Usually, the bad gets better, and even the positive phrases that she constantly says cannot save her. No matter how much she tries to fight it, she can't escape from it.

     She is known for giving positive advice, but now is a time where she needs to take her own advice, she is having a hard time staying sane and remaining peaceful. She's scared to admit that she is not enjoying her youth and has stopped trying to pretend to be happy,  Now, she instead misses her younger days, where she woke up and did simple activities that provided her with an abundance of happiness. She realizes that the same monsters that gave her monsters when she was younger are now coming back, but this time she can't push them away.

     Let's be honest here, each time I said she, you felt that your name could've been in that spot. This is an accurate representation of youth nowadays. We feel alone, feel afraid to admit how we feel, but everyone feels like this. Many of us wish to go back to our golden days of being toddlers, yet the adults wish to be teenagers. Why are we all wishing that we can go back in time when there was one day where we were actually looking forward to this day? Are we becoming spoiled or are we victims of our own games?

      Studies have shown that the average teenager has the same level of anxiety as a psychiatric patient in the 1950's. That is a major problem, it has to stop. All the hate that is spreading around in the world is horrible. We're all living our lives in fear from the opinion of others.

The saying "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me," is not true at all. Words do hurt, sometimes that hurt even more than being physically hurt.

With high school, we're overworked and often burned out.

There's just so much pressure and it's instantly denting our young minds into worn out whispers. 

In the words of @TheMJPrincess. Everywhere we go, no matter whom we are- there are standards that have already been set for us. We didn't choose them, we were born into the system. You have to look a certain way, and be a certain way- just to be recognized as a normal citizen of the world today. If you're different, you get ridiculed. If you're unique, it's a crime. It seems as if society has forbidden its peers from discovering life for themselves. The world has developed so much in terms of modernization, and infrastructure - but the people are suffering. There aren't enough jobs, and there isn't enough love - yet the expectations of people are so high. We've been told that if we don't adjust, we die.

But is that really what we want? To conform to the pressures of the system that we didn't choose? Or do we want to break through these structural expectations, and become something better?

Something for ourselves.

Don't lose the faith, keep it close - and keep striving for something that makes YOU happy.

Believe, and work towards what YOU want and what YOU desire.

     Adults often threaten us by saying "In the real world this wouldn't be allowed." During our teenage years are we living in a manipulated version of the world? The truth is that we're living in the real world right now, right this second. I believe that possibly a decade ago, we may have been able to repeat the real world phrase, but now the world is so destructive, that even teenagers cannot fully enjoy their youth.

We have to do with all of these expectations that society has dawned upon us. If you act like yourself, then you're too unique, but if you act like someone else, you're to fake. Well, which one is it? Which one is the right answer? I'm sure that we would all like to know the answer to save ourselves from the unwanted pressure.

The truth is that we're the ones that can stop all of the hatred, and the high expectations. I know it's hard to believe, sometimes I forget that society is really us, and I instead believe that it's a pessimistic robot. But no, we're the ones in charge of our future, and surprisingly, the generations that will come after us. We have to start breaking the chain and starting our new beginnings. It's easier said than done, so why don't we start right now? I challenge you to say something nice to someone today that is unique. Many times we don't realize that the things that we call flaws, are seen as beautiful, and when we receive compliments about those things, our day suddenly becomes a little bit brighter.

I would sincerely from the bottom of my heart, like to thank @TheMJPrincess/She has brought me away from my writer's block and has inspired me to write this. So, thank you very much! Go check out her books

Also, while you're here, I challenge you to make the world a better place by donating grains of rice for free to countries, like Indian and Sub-Saharan Africa that suffer from high levels of Malnutrition. The website is called Freerice.com and every question that you answer correctly while you're logged in donates 10 grains of rice. The ads that you see while answering questions is what allows the website to donate rice without charging users. My group is called Teens Vs Hunger, my code is SWS3LKB2, and my username is Leah Ehillo. We're the ones that have the power to change the world! Make the world's day brighter by donating rice.

I would like to end this off by saying that, I hope that today you work towards your goal. I hope that you reach for the stars because the sky is the limit right? I believe that you can achieve what you're working towards as long as you keep trying. I entered my books into about 10 awards, and I won none of them, but I won't stop reaching for my goals, neither should you.