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The 11th Hour
All around me, people are rushing
“The Clock is ticking,” they say
“The Clock is ticking.”
About the future, there is much fussing
“The Clock is ticking, the Clock is ticking.”
Time can’t be reversed, so better not do something you’ll regret
Into the top colleges you must get
Don’t pile up decades of debt
On your mark, ready, get set...
The Clock strikes nine
The shivering sound of losing time
strikes a chord of panic
17-year-olds turn manic
Society sneers at those with no accolades
and 9th grade is considered a late start
“The Clock is ticking, the Clock is ticking!”
11:01 becomes 11:05 becomes 11:59
Those in their 11th hour fear what’s next
While those in their 8th hour remain perplexed
Pressure mounts, expectations rise
Resumes done before dawn
Applications due, but everyone lies
The Clock ticks on
12
Silence around the Clock
but that lasts a millisecond
The new 11th-hour kids work to keep up
Fearing the looming shift from am to pm
They hide their pains -- you’ll never see them
But the Clock ticks on
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Sometime in the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year, I walked with my friend, who was now a senior at my high school, to grab boba after school, and one of the topics of our conversation was her college application. Over tapioca pearls, she spilled her worries – the essays, the choices, the research. That discussion inspired my poem, which I wrote while trying to view the college application process from my senior friend's perspective. Even though I'm just a sophomore, I feel the pressure of college applications whenever I glimpse at my future, reminding me that the ticking clock affects us all, regardless of our grade level, or "hour."
My poem delves into the overwhelming pressure and stress that characterizes the life of a secondary school student in 2023; more narrowly, this is a poem encapsulating the stress associated with 11th grade in the United States. It captures the relentless ticking of the "clock", symbolizing the deadlines, expectations, and societal pressures that define our high school journey. My poem displays a sense of urgency to exhibit the common struggle of planning for a future amid mounting expectations, reflecting the shared experience that many secondary school students are enduring right now.
I wrote this poem to capture the rush, worry, and constant push for success that students like me go through in high school. I decided to share it because I thought it could help others see that they're not alone in feeling this way; we all face similar challenges. By reading this, I hope students can connect and find comfort in knowing that others understand what they're going through in high school!