By: Yari Joy Dodd-Grant, ’26
Am I wasting my time
Aren’t my teen years supposed to be my prime?
Aren’t I so suppose to be outside hanging with friends
Going to stores with my best friends?
Am I wasting my time?
I sit at school for six hours
I watch kids pick on others and be cowards
School teaches us to be empowered
But the world tell us to be like everyone else
Am I wasting my time?
We learn english, science, and even math
They say it will take us down the right path
But there can be kids in my class who might become the next sociopath
Am I wasting my time?
Grades are important right?
They define us, determine if we’re bright?
In a certain time of your life they might?
You get really stressed, but at some point you realize you’ll be alright?
Am I wasting my time?
College.
How many 4, 5, 6 years?
Will it leave you in tears?
All for that degree?
Did that degree set you free?
No?
Am I wasting my time?
A Job?
Working a 9-5 like everyone else?
So you did all that to be like everyone else, WHAT?
Working for a government that doesn’t give you a fair cut?
Am I wasting my time?
The earth is dying.
Yet you keep applying so much hard work
Why are you still trying?
The government isn’t complying
The climate change rate is still rising.
Am I wasting my time?
Will you keep working hard?
Will you bring kids into a world that’s scarred?
Will you disregard the fact that they might have to work 10 times harder?
Am I wasting my time?
Should I just travel the world?
Live a life unconcerned?
A life that’s actually yearned?
Because I don’t want to waste my time.
Hello, my name is Yari Joy Dodd-Grant. Born in Boston, into a vibrant Jamaican-American family. We are closely connected. As of now, I am embracing my teenage years and figuring out what it means to me! Currently, I am a Boston Latin Academy scholar, who transitioned from a charter school. Enjoying my transition and appreciating being around peers to who I can relate while continuing my journey toward academic excellence.
The Jabberwock 
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