My teachers always taught me to

Cut that out.

Sit down.

Be quiet.

Pay attention.

Focus in.

Narrow your view.

Block out everyone around you.

But they never told me that

People do dumb things.

Most people mean well.

Not everyone means well.

Some good things suck.

Some sucky things have good results.

Names are sacred.

It's ok to color outside the lines.

Different doesn't mean bad.

There's more than one right way.

There can be more than two right ways.

You don't have to date to be happy.

Nice people don't always say nice things.

Bad people don't always say bad things.

The best days in life are numbered few.

The things you remember are all you take with you.

These things I had to learn all on my own.

I usually didn't learn them the first time around.

I get the feeling I've been taught the wrong lessons,

Because teachers always talk about how to fix you.

But I'm learning through experience

That other people matter and there's more to the world than just me.