For this project, we read a short poem called "this is 45" and made our own poems based on the example, here is mine:
This is 15: Life’s Character Creation Page by Nicholas Jennings
This is 15
Fifteen is life’s character creation page. You’ve been given the backstory and some of the basic rules; now you have to decide where your place is. The choices are impressive... ans staggering. Things seem more important now than they ever have, you never know what butterfly effect you could cause. You have to put your nose to the grindstone, but which grindstone is best for you? with this realization comes a feeling of reluctance. If you’re bound to choose incorrectly, why choose at all? you try to think of the future, but the present makes it hard to concentrate.
Fifteen is being grateful for the friends you have, while knowing that in four years you’ll be scattered across the globe and that in four more years you might’ve forgotten each other entirely.
Fifteen is when sleep suddenly ceases to be a curfew and becomes something to look forward to.
At 15 you routinely do a double-take when trying to recognize your friend as complete fashion makeovers become increasingly popular. People you knew from elementary school are total seem to come from another planet. Your personal story seems dull compared to the situations others describe.
Fifteen is the very beginning of a need to stand out, as just associating yourself with a larger entity isn’t enough anymore. You begin to realize that “being yourself” is one of the hardest things you’ll ever attempt, especially when you don’t know who “yourself” is.
It is still loving your dog and hating yourself for having a pet as common as a dog. 5 year old you would've wanted an armadillo or a sloth, but somehow 10 years later a flying squirrel became the dullest species on earth, the individuals of said species are another matter.
Fifteen is becoming yourself, but the process seems so sped up that what should be a liberating experience becomes a hurried, and possibly doomed, jailbreak attempt. It is realizing life choices are a lot more complicated than math problems.
At 15 your tolerance for people you know begins to fade. It seems the “old married couple” relationship applies to anyone you met more that 3 years ago. Complete strangers are the only interesting people left but, for better or worse, you friends might become strangers themselves.
It is 10 years, 2 presidents, and hundreds of books that have left you more confused than ever. The deadline approaches and the choices aren’t feeling any easier.
Fifteen is full of fleeting moments of quiet as commitments, extracurricular activities, homework, and naps devour you free time like a pack of wolves would a deer. You heard somewhere that high school was combination of social life, school, and sleep. Choose two. You thought it was a funny joke back then, now you know better.
It is a game of chess played against the greatest opponent in the world. Nearly every successful move involves sacrificing a piece, and the ones that don’t are easy to miss. Engineer or designer? State or UC? Drama or Robotics? There are no easy choices and no loopholes in the system. You still love to read.
Fifteen is constantly learning new things, none of which make you feel better about the world. You see people older than you applying to college or looking for jobs. None of them seem happy, so why are you supposed to be excited?
It is a candystore of things to learn about -- CAD, precalculus, music, -- where everything is interesting. But the store is going to close soon so choose while you can.
At 15, anyone 2 years younger than you is a child who's grown up in a different culture than you; anyone 4 years older than you is an adult. Neither make very good company.
At 15 you still don’t ever understand it all, but you’ve reached a point where you begin to know what you don’t know, places where it’s best to ask for help. You are quicker to ask for assistance, slower to deny it, and saved from a lot of the embarrassment of talking about something you don’t understand.
It is hearing from trusted sources that the system only seems unfair while you're in the middle of it, and that most people end up in a good place. But it is also realizing that you won’t have the free time of a year ago until you retire at 70. You can’t stop the future so it’s best to accept it... but that’s a difficult thing to do.
This is 15. This is me. Now.
This is 15: Life’s Character Creation Page by Nicholas Jennings
This is 15
Fifteen is life’s character creation page. You’ve been given the backstory and some of the basic rules; now you have to decide where your place is. The choices are impressive... ans staggering. Things seem more important now than they ever have, you never know what butterfly effect you could cause. You have to put your nose to the grindstone, but which grindstone is best for you? with this realization comes a feeling of reluctance. If you’re bound to choose incorrectly, why choose at all? you try to think of the future, but the present makes it hard to concentrate.
Fifteen is being grateful for the friends you have, while knowing that in four years you’ll be scattered across the globe and that in four more years you might’ve forgotten each other entirely.
Fifteen is when sleep suddenly ceases to be a curfew and becomes something to look forward to.
At 15 you routinely do a double-take when trying to recognize your friend as complete fashion makeovers become increasingly popular. People you knew from elementary school are total seem to come from another planet. Your personal story seems dull compared to the situations others describe.
Fifteen is the very beginning of a need to stand out, as just associating yourself with a larger entity isn’t enough anymore. You begin to realize that “being yourself” is one of the hardest things you’ll ever attempt, especially when you don’t know who “yourself” is.
It is still loving your dog and hating yourself for having a pet as common as a dog. 5 year old you would've wanted an armadillo or a sloth, but somehow 10 years later a flying squirrel became the dullest species on earth, the individuals of said species are another matter.
Fifteen is becoming yourself, but the process seems so sped up that what should be a liberating experience becomes a hurried, and possibly doomed, jailbreak attempt. It is realizing life choices are a lot more complicated than math problems.
At 15 your tolerance for people you know begins to fade. It seems the “old married couple” relationship applies to anyone you met more that 3 years ago. Complete strangers are the only interesting people left but, for better or worse, you friends might become strangers themselves.
It is 10 years, 2 presidents, and hundreds of books that have left you more confused than ever. The deadline approaches and the choices aren’t feeling any easier.
Fifteen is full of fleeting moments of quiet as commitments, extracurricular activities, homework, and naps devour you free time like a pack of wolves would a deer. You heard somewhere that high school was combination of social life, school, and sleep. Choose two. You thought it was a funny joke back then, now you know better.
It is a game of chess played against the greatest opponent in the world. Nearly every successful move involves sacrificing a piece, and the ones that don’t are easy to miss. Engineer or designer? State or UC? Drama or Robotics? There are no easy choices and no loopholes in the system. You still love to read.
Fifteen is constantly learning new things, none of which make you feel better about the world. You see people older than you applying to college or looking for jobs. None of them seem happy, so why are you supposed to be excited?
It is a candystore of things to learn about -- CAD, precalculus, music, -- where everything is interesting. But the store is going to close soon so choose while you can.
At 15, anyone 2 years younger than you is a child who's grown up in a different culture than you; anyone 4 years older than you is an adult. Neither make very good company.
At 15 you still don’t ever understand it all, but you’ve reached a point where you begin to know what you don’t know, places where it’s best to ask for help. You are quicker to ask for assistance, slower to deny it, and saved from a lot of the embarrassment of talking about something you don’t understand.
It is hearing from trusted sources that the system only seems unfair while you're in the middle of it, and that most people end up in a good place. But it is also realizing that you won’t have the free time of a year ago until you retire at 70. You can’t stop the future so it’s best to accept it... but that’s a difficult thing to do.
This is 15. This is me. Now.