The following was found scrawled out in the bathroom of a Minnesota school, clearly demonstrating the painful thoughts of a student on today’s overbearing expectations.  How much is enough?

Note that two empathetic students wrote, “You aren’t alone” and “This is the truth”.

“Fragments from a Junior’s thoughts.
Today, I heard the phrase, “It looks good on a college application”  11 times.                                                                                                                                Teachers tell me they are preparing me for “real life” as if the first 18 years are a free trial.                                                                                            Getting an education turned out to be a competition I never agreed to enter.
I used to think in week days and now I think in test dates.
Nothing is heavier than my backpack except maybe my eyeballs.
I’m losing sleep, losing weight, losing my mind.
I’m so lost.
Even as I write this poem I know that nothing I have to say matters,
Unless it’s typed in Times New Roman 12pt font.”