When I open my bedroom door

my clothes are sprawled out all over my pepper flaked carpet.

What else is new?

No one has time with the hectic lives of the twenty first century.

A room is meant for functioning,

and that’s exactly what it does.

As my cat lays around,

Jealously, I look at her.

All I want to do is hibernate

into a rejuvenating sleep-

if only for a minute.

What else is new?

Even cat naps are thought of as a treat.

The faint hush of the fan sets the tone of the evening.

Late night crickets orchestrate a new song

that seeps  through windows everywhere,

and fills rooms with a lonely noise: nature's lullaby.

I am the last one up.

Don’t we all think that?

What else is new?

We live in a society where homework trumps personal well being.

Who needs sleep when energy drinks

and coffee shops are accessible around every corner?

As I try to focus,

college papers cover my furniture

in a blanket of despair.

They say, “pick me, pick me.”

I brush off the comment and finish the essentials.

One day at a time, is what I tell myself.

No matter who we really are, or what we try and become,

numbers and stereotypes fill our personal resume,

and there is simply no one to blame.

Does character even count?

When you see a student,

3.68,

32,

and AP Chem are what define them.

You never again will have to meet someone;

a transcript will tell you everything there is to know.

What else is new?