i never learned how to
register to vote, or how
to save money with my
college-student budget,

or how not to lose my
mind under the pile of
textbooks that sit on my
desk, or my keys for that

matter. i was taught so
much, and yet i feel as
naïve as a five year old,
trying to navigate up

and down the narrow
halls of an elementary
school.  and at eighteen
i’ve found that there are

so many valuable things
to learn in school, but
so many valuable things
to take from life and if

we don’t experience them
both, how will we ever
know? thank you for giving
me the chance to learn

on my own. i know the 
system isn't here to 
teach me how to live 
life, or guide me through

but at least now i that
there is more beyond
the lines of a textbook
and the cushioning of

a wooden library chair