Finch, E. (2015). Life Is Tough. family friend poems
Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/life-is-tough
“Life is tough–that’s what they say,
But they don’t know what it’s like every day
To wake up in the morning and go to school,
Just so people can test you and prove you’re a fool.
The teacher says you obviously didn’t try,
But they don’t know you go to your room and cry.
You did put in the effort, you did your part;
They just don’t understand you’re not that smart.
Then comes the pressure from your mum and dad
Who are so clearly disappointed that your grades are bad?
You are punished and picked on for the rest of the year,
Because you finally gave up on the future career
That was once so close but is now so distant.
However, your teachers and parents are still insistent.
It’s hard enough getting up and going to class
Without the pressure and expectation that you have to pass.
The worst part, however, is not that you’re a disappointment.
It’s the permanent, never-ending embarrassment
Of always failing and coming last,
Of never being good enough, your confidence dropping fast.
Everyone else seems to be doing just fine.
Their parents are all proud, unlike mine.
Honestly, I can’t think of a worse place than this,
When in reality it’s made out to be somewhere we should miss.
I won’t miss it; I’ll be glad to leave.
Five years wasted because failure is all I ever received.
I know it’s my fault and that I’m the one to blame.
I gave up so early on because I was ashamed.
To my family, I’m a failure, and I’m a failure to myself.
Everyone’s high expectations only damaged my mental health.
If I ever have kids I will always try
To make sure the fear of failure is not the reason they ever cry.
People need to understand school’s no longer fun or good,
‘Cause some of us don’t fit in, although we wish we could.”
What the author of this poem is trying to get across to us readers is how schools can feel like a mental prison. Finch explains in this poem the main pressures and stress schools like to set upon students on a daily basis when furthering their education. The poem also embraces the embarrassments and pain students come to when failing their grades. It shows punishment not only within their teachers and parents but within themselves as well. Finch captures the thought of personal failure in school and how it can negatively impact our mental health about school. Finch states, “The worst part, however, is not that you’re a disappointment. It’s the permanent, never-ending embarrassment, Of always failing and coming last, Of never being good enough, your confidence dropping fast.” This would mean that you are not viewed as a disappointment but rather as someone who doesn’t try hard enough. However, as this poem implies, you are trying but struggling in the end anyway making you lose motivation to do better and ending up worse than you already are. This poem is also an indication of a deep and personal message that students from across the world can relate to. The author shows disagreement with how the school system functions and how it can feel depressing at times. Like the author stated that some of us don’t fit in. Although school is necessary for basic knowledge such as the alphabet and/or numbers schools have eventually turned to a position where students question their understanding. So why are students questioning themselves if what they are doing is right in school? I understand the author’s perspective as schools can have much-unneeded stress. I think the author is not so credible due to the fact that this is their opinion about the school. Although many of us students can relate and understand this perspective of school is still is what it is, an opinion in a poetic form. I believe the author chose this genre to make the readers feel more engaged. Reading a poem in the mind helps us keep it in memorization. It can be a catchy poem or a symbolic poem. Whatever the case may be poems are a good way to keep us readers entertained giving us a more vivid image.
Conclusion
What I had found in my research was very intriguing to me as it gave me a new perspective about schools and their capabilities. It was a fun and enjoyable experience to see the educations difficulties and their possibilities and how it impacts us. What surprised me how the school system can be considered, “Outdated” in modern society dating back when Prussia existed. It made me see how mentally exhausting it can be for others and everyone must endure it in order to continue their livelihood. My understanding of the research question had immensely deepened as a school can be stressful for students around the world. Although school is important for some reasons there always comes a limit when a student’s curiosity becomes neglected. I’m glad I researched this as it helped me envision any pains and sufferings any other students may encounter. Gathering all of this research I believe the Board of Education should be aware of this era of modern education and how it mentally impacts current students. It is a pressure that has been placed upon us for many years as we discover new things every decade and so. New discoveries could mean new futures and it can be unpredictable. Although schools cannot help us predict what’s to come in our future it is still important nonetheless as it can also teach us the meaning of adulthood and responsibilities. While schools may have its modern problems it isn’t always a negative. Without our current education, we wouldn’t be able to do the things we are doing as of right now. However, changing the education system would prove rather difficult to adapt to our modern society as things aren’t so black and white. There is almost too much to take into consideration to make the education system truly “fair” for all. Your ethnicity, race, environment and etc shall always be apart from you and can be expressed to further your education in a “perfect education system”. Until then we can express how we currently feel about our education and would be a good topic in school-related subjects. Although we may not know if it will ever change it’s good to know that we can share these ideas with one another in areas besides school.
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