I used to be a high school student. I used to ride a yellow bus every morning, before the sun was even up, to a brick building full of “academics.” I used to wear a backpack, stuffed with textbooks for subjects that do not make me smile with excitement. Yeah, I used to be a high school student.

I used to be cooped up in classrooms, being taught by people just collecting paychecks, doing word searches and sudoku puzzles—busywork. I used to think that was all there was to life; spending it in a mass production unit. But it’s not.

Now, I roam free. That yellow bus drives by my house each day, but I pay no attention. I don’t have to listen to anyone lecture on ancient Greek pottery; I can learn by doing it myself. The leaves changing colors are all the biology I’ll ever need. The smiles on little children’s faces, a subject not taught in school: joy. I am no longer confined.

Yeah, I used to be a high school student. But now, now I’m free.