The System

Take this, take that,

You need this, you need that,

But what if I don't?

Maybe I'm gonna do my thing,

Maybe I won't ever use history,

Because I'm an engineer.

Perhaps it's just that I don't need,

Anything about rhetoric or its analysis,

Because I'm sitting here writing new code.

And if I'm a theater major,

It's not like I need calculus,

Or trig, chemistry or biology.

Since I'm a scientist,

All I need is everything we know,

Just all about this field.

So, forgive me if I sleep in class,

Or doodle or daydream or skip,

Because even though I need it now,

I don't need it in the future.

Perhaps we need to toss the generics,

the four by four of courses,

English, Math, Science and History,

But give us an overview,

Maybe just one glimpse.

Let us decide,

What courses we take.

But make us take a certain number,

Just it'd be courses we are interested in.

Perhaps we have to pass a test,

Over the basics of each subject,

But either way, what we have now,

Doesn't work for everyone.

Just know I'm not like him,

Not like her, not like you.

Maybe I need a method of learning,

More like me.

But when the system tries to tell me,

Exactly how to succeed,

I feel like they believe,

That I can't define success.

When I try to follow what they tell me,

All I get is this emptiness inside,

So why should I follow the money,

If I'm no longer happy?