There’s a sea of people surrounded with judgement.

Everyone’s being called out for everything.

Our lives are online, public to the world.

Self hate spreads as well as the hate of others.

“Go kill yourself, no one is gonna miss you.”

“That’s gay!”

Sweaty palms,

“what do they think of me?”

“I don’t want to stand out.”

“What if I don’t fit in.”

Lips never stop moving and backs are stabbed.

But For those who stick around

And stay for the broken hearts,

missed assignments

and the best of memories.

After an eight hour day we come home

with heavy backpacks with worn feet.

Mom, Dad we know you are tired, but so are we.

We watch those we care about burn in between their index and middle finger

and smell the poison on their breath.

They push us away when we mean no harm

Disappointment of parents from their kids.

“They don’t understand.”

What the kids don’t understand

is that they are hard on you

because they care.

They do understand,

they were you too at one point.

Just a little

Different.

Recognize any of these things?

Teenagers.

-p.g.y