Dear 844

Hi 844,
You came into my life,
Better said I stepped into yours,
15 years ago when all I knew was my name,
Ecstacy of learning new things,
That one with zeros was of more values than one with none,
That characters arranged formed sounds,
That things I knew had other names,
That I could use sticks and pens alike to write,
Things got more complex and I matched it,
Those were the first sweet eight years.

Then the next four,
That's when struggle got real,
Academics Academics,
Exams were the determining factor,
You got an A and everything was alright,
Whether it was personal or communal,
You taught unhealthy competition,
That to be the best I had to be the best in everything,
My passion was physical sciences,
Yet you burdened me - cracking my head with femurs and girdles,
You taught me that with an A life would be easy,
Yet you hid from me the fact that,
My job wouldn't be filling questionaires
Of how genius I am,
You hid from me the fact that my practical skills mattered.

When I tried getting to sports,
I was told it was a waste of time,
When I wrote my poems,
I had to hide the book,
In the process tens of pieces got lost,
When I joined Science Congress and soared through levels,
You denied me certificate of proof,
So that I could only prove my theoretical skills in future,
You taught me that as long as I passed I was safe,
In that way you planted a virus in me,
Reading at last minute,
Doing everything at last minute.

Then I passed and made you happy,
I was happy too,
Once I knew that knowledge and education were one and the same,
But you had proved otherwise,
That education mattered more than knowledge,
If I knew theories of the 14th century I was educated,
And congratulated,
But when I explained a new discovery,
My knowledge was shunned,
That everything had its time,
Made me wonder which century we are in.