Life Lessons
All my life I’ve been forced to learn in a place I hate
When all this time teaching was my fate
Not as in teaching children
I’m too antisocial for that
I’m talking about teaching that words have great effects
All my life I’ll remember that day
I had to teach my siblings that one day it will be okay
They didn’t crack a smile they wanted to debate
I just wanted to assure them that there was a possibility
They already knew that life was hell
It made me have to excuse myself
To know they went through this so early
I shed tears for the loss of innocence and they’re not even close to thirty
All my life I’ll reminisce this day
When I had to teach my peers not everything is okay
Especially when it comes to what you say
As a minority I had to speak and teach them the right way
Everything you say shouldn’t be displayed
They sat in the corner yelling about Muslims and gays
I didn’t realize that day but it made me feel grey
They spewed stereotypes everyday
I was included once and stayed quit cause even teachers need a break
I’d broken down over their racist, homophobic, transphobic, Islamophobic ways
Because I knew the idea was already set in their brains
All my life I’ll replay this day
When I had to teach myself, I wasn’t okay
With myself, my skin, my weight, and everything
My courage had gotten the best of me
It was the day of my sixth-grade dance
I was so confident I literally pranced
In the direction of a boy and asked him if he liked me
His reply was so shocking I thought he knifed me
He said, “I can’t date you because of your skin.”
The courage washed away I wished it had been my too dark skin
He had preferred Mexicans
I was only about twelve yet I hated myself
I’d developed anxiety and an aura made to repel the earth
The hardest lesson I’ve had to tech was loving myself
And I’m still teaching it today
All my life I’ve wished for this day
When I had reached the end of high school not perfect but okay
I’m close to it now and just can’t wait
To continue after this place that tortured me constantly
I’m at the end of the road and am ready to teach
Though this type of teaching is different for me
I’m nearing the roads of adulthood and I’m not excited
But I know as long as I keep teaching
I won’t be too frightened