Wow, it's wild to see this here. About 20 years ago, a grief counselor I was seeing after the death of my mom shared this article with me after I told him about

Wow, it's wild to see this here. About 20 years ago, a grief counselor I was seeing after the death of my mom shared this article with me after I told him about how school felt pointless and cruel. I stopped seeing that grief counselor not long after (I think my family couldn't afford to see him) but the impact of this essay was deep. It was the first piece of writing I had read by 14 that critiqued something as mundane and entrenched as the public school system in the United States, and in terms that spoke to my experiences. It inspired me to start honing my writing skills with intentionality, and sharpened my interest in activism. I have mixed feelings reading this article now -- it's not quite as well written as I remember, although I still agree with many of the critiques.