How ironic it is to be controlled by the ones who should encourage expression

How frustrating it is to be denied the same amendment this nation was created under

It is not kids who grip my pen with such ferocity it alters my thoughts

It is the educators themselves, the ones who should be the front line of free speech

Why must I restrain my language when my emotions storm the gate of my mind?

Why must I follow your damned format teacher?!

I try to break free from the mold you place me in but I am pulled back by the force of habit

The same 5 paragraphs

The same 5 sentences per group

The same intro's

The same conclusions

The same elaborations of the same basic ideas

Do I look like I came from a damn cookie sheet to you?

Don't try to cut me the same way you did your previous slaves

If you can't see my creations past their "unique" layout, then why force me to be in your prison?

Does no one else find it odd that in an English class today all I see is uniformity?

The same flimsy, wooden desks, seemingly always arranged into a perfect square

The same layout of the rooms, with a single window that beckons to me, longingly

The same rubric for every student of every class

How is this free thinking?

Maybe one day my force of will can break free from the force of habit

That day, I can call myself free