As a child, 

your first friend, 

who promises to be there 'till the very end.

 

That day in 3rd grade,

when she finds someone new.

Tells you that you were never quite good enough,

that you never quite fit in.

 

That time in 4th grade, when you got called your first nickname:

"Four Eyes,"

which turned into silly things like "stupid," "goody-two-shoes," and "worthless."

 

It all went downhill from there,

being chased and beat up to being shoved down the stairs.

They all thought it was perfectly okay,

I'm just a little 5th grader anyways.

 

But little did they know,

or care,

that these memories of pain,

of hurt,

will stick with me forever.

 

In 5th grade is when they start to realize and accept society's vision of a perfect person,

and that it's somehow correct.

But some people,

the very few,

stand out from the crowd,

blue in a sea of green,

stars in a sea of darkness.

 

We all thought we were the darkness because of how they treated us,

but in reality,

we were the stars, shining brighter than they ever could.

 

We didn't understand why people didn't like being different,

why they just wanted to fit in,

why they didn't like being unique,

because we did.

 

But when they started to hurt us, 

tear us in two,

we started to question if being different was worth the pain.

 

Some of us cracked.

from the words that are an earthquake of emotion,

that crushes not only our souls but our hearts, our hopes, our dreams.

 

The things that we saw,

have seen, have gone through, have born,

would completely crush others.

If you were in our shoes, walked what we walked, 

you would see,

We're just puzzle pieces that don't fit in society's puzzle.

You would understand why we would question ourselves,

our flaws,

and consider becoming a slave.

 

The Emancipation Proclamation.

Apparently, all slaves are free because of our ancestors in history,

but we are still slaves to society.

Bound to pop culture,

bound by the in and outs, 

stuck in a prison of trying to fit in,

trying to belong to something because we feel we are nothing.

 

But this,

this is the age of the underdogs.

The ones who won't back down,

even though the entire world is against them.

The ones that keep their heads held high, 

even though everyone's pushing them down.

The ones who learn not to care what others say,

because they're just words anyway.

The ones who get society to question why we are different.

 

Society tries to figure out why there are so many outcasts like us,

why so many people don't fit in,

why there are so many suicides,

rapes,

murders,

abusive relationships.

We keep trying to find the issue,

but what they don't realize,

what we don't realize, 

is that society is our issue.

 

The issue we can't change, 

and we need to learn to accept.

Not accept it like we finally believe that society is good,

but accept it as the wrong that will never be right,

no matter how hard we try.

Because there will always be bullies that cause tears,

Because there will always be suffering and pain.

 

But we,

after being pushed and thrown away for so many years,

after being told that we're not good enough,

after being beaten down and told we don't deserve to live,

We have wiped our tears,

We have stood up,

We have avoided the robots,

the machines programmed to believe what is wrong and what is right,

determined by society.

 

But I,

But we,

Will  not live by these standards,

because all they do is push us down,

Because this, 

this is the age of the underdogs,

who will finally take a stand.