i'm such a radical :/
Greetings, fellow pupils of Mrs. Hart’s C Block Honors English class. Greetings, students of Westford Academy; or rather, should I say, minions of the dark, dastardly, production factory that is the corrupt and underhanded Westford Academy School of Conditioning and Requirement. We are not students; we are interchangeable parts being molded into uniform machinery. We are not individuals; we are the molten liquid metal that parents, faculty, and college administrators alike are pouring into the perfect mold. They are attempting to shape us into the “perfect student,” so we can all become doctors or pharmacists and rake in the millions. That is their goal, all right. That is what they want. But what about what we want? Do you want to sew people’s bloody, gooey, slimy insides back together? And do you want to use chemicals and high-tech lab equipment all day, creating drugs and other dangerous, harmful (if abused) substances of the future Earth? But, I think it is safe to say, something we do all want to be is the “perfect student.”
But what does the term “perfect student” really mean, anyway? “Perfect student” can mean one of two things. The first meaning of a “perfect student” describes someone who earns straight A-plusses, takes six Advanced Placement classes before her senior year, does 4032 hours of community service a week, works two jobs, spends every Saturday afternoon looking over SAT prep vocabulary words, sleeps at least eight hours a night, is of an all-round amiable character, and has at least ten hobbies or leisure activities to keep her a well-rounded individual.
This is clearly what is thought of as being the “perfect student”, yes? Then what, you may inquire, is the second meaning of a “perfect student”? The second meaning of a “perfect student” is merely a person pretending to be all that the first “perfect student” is. She secretly plots to undermine the tyrannical office despots of Westford Academy School of Conditioning and Requirement, yearning to be free and do whatever it is that her deepest heart’s desires urge her to do. Play on the soccer team; join the jazz band. Try out for the school play; write a novel. Go to All-State; learn Japanese. Enter the art competition; learn how to weave baskets. This girl, “perfect student number two,” she knows what she wants. And she knows how to get it, with a bit of rule-bending here and a bit of sucking up there.
But there’s only so much we can fake. We are not alive to be molded into living sculptures of perfection. We are not alive to be living out the dreams of our parents, the dreams of our guidance counselors, nor the dreams of our school’s tyrannical office despots. Just because some pompous, snobby Ivy League College says that in order to gain acceptance to its fine school of recondite knowledge, we must first enroll in three science classes and two math- all during senior year, get a 2400 on the SAT’s three times, and all become valedictorian of our graduating class, does this mean that we should bow to their every push and shove? Should we give up our sanity and well-being, our passions and our dreams, allowing ourselves to be shaped as mould and played with as silly-putty? Should we hand in our uniqueness, our specialties, and our hobbies just to receive the thin envelope in the end?
Enough is enough. I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to take it. I’m going to be “perfect student number two” forever and always. And you should, too.
so this was my speech for english class. and i had kevin read it for me. he had just read a similar speech about hating chemistry (and how since he's planning on being an actor, he has no need for it). and he read it beautifully. it was so moving, even for me, as the author. after he was done, mrs. hart went up to the board, erased the "study for exam" under hw, and wrote "relax." then she was like "i don't think there's anything else to be said..." referring to more people reading their speeches. i'm not sure if she liked it or not... and i hope i impressed my two adversaries. a compliment from one of them would mean so much more than a compliment from people who actually like me...
and goddamn it, why didn't i ask today?!?!?!?!?! PERFECT OPPORTUNITY. and i let it slide by. i'm not sure why i'm so nervous about this, i don't quite understand. i'm just... inhibited, for some reason. i guess. but i'm doing it eventually... >_________>
But what does the term “perfect student” really mean, anyway? “Perfect student” can mean one of two things. The first meaning of a “perfect student” describes someone who earns straight A-plusses, takes six Advanced Placement classes before her senior year, does 4032 hours of community service a week, works two jobs, spends every Saturday afternoon looking over SAT prep vocabulary words, sleeps at least eight hours a night, is of an all-round amiable character, and has at least ten hobbies or leisure activities to keep her a well-rounded individual.
This is clearly what is thought of as being the “perfect student”, yes? Then what, you may inquire, is the second meaning of a “perfect student”? The second meaning of a “perfect student” is merely a person pretending to be all that the first “perfect student” is. She secretly plots to undermine the tyrannical office despots of Westford Academy School of Conditioning and Requirement, yearning to be free and do whatever it is that her deepest heart’s desires urge her to do. Play on the soccer team; join the jazz band. Try out for the school play; write a novel. Go to All-State; learn Japanese. Enter the art competition; learn how to weave baskets. This girl, “perfect student number two,” she knows what she wants. And she knows how to get it, with a bit of rule-bending here and a bit of sucking up there.
But there’s only so much we can fake. We are not alive to be molded into living sculptures of perfection. We are not alive to be living out the dreams of our parents, the dreams of our guidance counselors, nor the dreams of our school’s tyrannical office despots. Just because some pompous, snobby Ivy League College says that in order to gain acceptance to its fine school of recondite knowledge, we must first enroll in three science classes and two math- all during senior year, get a 2400 on the SAT’s three times, and all become valedictorian of our graduating class, does this mean that we should bow to their every push and shove? Should we give up our sanity and well-being, our passions and our dreams, allowing ourselves to be shaped as mould and played with as silly-putty? Should we hand in our uniqueness, our specialties, and our hobbies just to receive the thin envelope in the end?
Enough is enough. I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to take it. I’m going to be “perfect student number two” forever and always. And you should, too.
so this was my speech for english class. and i had kevin read it for me. he had just read a similar speech about hating chemistry (and how since he's planning on being an actor, he has no need for it). and he read it beautifully. it was so moving, even for me, as the author. after he was done, mrs. hart went up to the board, erased the "study for exam" under hw, and wrote "relax." then she was like "i don't think there's anything else to be said..." referring to more people reading their speeches. i'm not sure if she liked it or not... and i hope i impressed my two adversaries. a compliment from one of them would mean so much more than a compliment from people who actually like me...
and goddamn it, why didn't i ask today?!?!?!?!?! PERFECT OPPORTUNITY. and i let it slide by. i'm not sure why i'm so nervous about this, i don't quite understand. i'm just... inhibited, for some reason. i guess. but i'm doing it eventually... >_________>