Letters to You

Dear School

I'm not the type that dreads school or hates it. I really and truly (gasp) enjoy school.

However there are parts of school that make me hate going. I love English class, and drama class and even physics, which is crazy.

However, PE class is ridiculous. My PE teacher, although a little bit overtly excited for kids to join cross country and track, is not to blame for my hate.

It's the curriculum. For the first part of the year, everything is fine. we do sports that are fun, and run around the gym for three to five minutes. THATS easy.

It's when you force me to run the mile, and when you make me do fitness testing.

Readers, as you may have gathered from my previous chapter, I'm not exactly small or fit. The mile run and fitness testing is basically begging to put kids like me to shame.

It's not that I can't run a mile, or do some pushups. It's the fact that kids like me, we don't like be compared to people who are skinny, and really fit. It makes me feel bad about myself. The thing is, no matter how hard I try, I have asthma, I'm way overweight, and I can't do more than thirty push-ups a minute. Those types of things takes months to gather the strength to change that enough for me to not be in last place.

So you basically set me up to fail.

Since when is school supposed to do that?

I'm not saying that we should stop doing fitness, I'm saying we should stop doing the testing for it. we should stop giving first through infinite places on things kids already feel self conscious about.

I like the running for three to five minutes before playing a sports. I like doing ten push-ups before playing a sport. I like doing twenty curl ups or sit ups before a sport.

Just don't make me count them. don't compare me to the muscle giant who kicks even the skinny people's asses at basketball. QUIT comparing me. I don't like it, and it kind of ruins my confidence.

I like school, and when it comes to comparing my body image, I will fake sick just to get out of it.

What message are we sending with that?

Also, my math teacher is a bit ridiculous. She's a very nice person, and she knows what she's teaching. You're probably wondering what could possibly be wrong with her.

She can't teach me anything. she knows the information, but she can't deliver that information in a way that I understand.

Not to mention the fact that she is totally anal about things on tests. I'm an A student, (it's pretty much February) and I just got my first A in this class.

Also, my English class makes me want to cry. My teacher is a good one, he just doesn't let me write anything for class work. He's the English teacher that only cares if you're reading. Although he has given me praise in the few things he assigns, I feel like I can't really express the one thing I really love. Writing is my thing. I'm not the best at it, but it's one of the best things I can do.

So I'm really bummed when I am stuck reading others writing, and totally incapable of writing my own for class.

Finally, I've come to my last complaint.

Dress code.

As I have said before, I'm overweight and not particularly pretty. I'm not the type of girl to go to school in her underwear. Trust me. However, I own quite a few modest tank tops that I'm not allowed to wear because they are 'too revealing'. If you've heard about the Utah school dress code article recently, you know exactly why I'm upset.

Why must girls cover our shoulders because it would turn on guys? Why must we constantly worry about our self image so as not to give a guy a boner from my fat shoulder. I really hope people understand that the idea of this is absolutely ridiculous.

Girls are taught to live their life accordingly to boys.

News flash. I don't give a flying fück if my shoulder is being shown, and neither does the boy sitting next to me.

I've never met a single person who is turned on by shoulders.

Even if they were a turn on, that's like saying boys can't wear khakis because girls find it attractive.

Holy hell.

AND EVEN IF MY SHOULDER WASNT COVERED, ITS NOT LIKE A GUY IS GOING TO WHIP HIS SAUSAGE OUT AND BEÄT IT.

Okay I had to say it, okay.

Not to mention the fact that guys are oblivious as fück about what girls are wearing. Tank top or tee shirt, if they like the girl, shes pretty.

Plus, I've seems shirts that are way worse than a tank top that are allowed.

Showcase you bra, but God forbid your shoulder be seen.

I live in a country where women are meant to cover themselves. I'm from america, Im red headed, and I go to an American school. I'm not from here. So when I moved here, I was shocked by how much girls had to cover in order to even be a part of society. In this country, I respect their culture and cover up with the black robe before I go shopping or out of town.

But my school should not be like that. It's an American international school, where nobody cares if you're in the robe or not.

All girls and even some guys during PE complain about tank tops not being allowed.

Okay, no tank tops during school, fine.

BUT PE?

We're sweating already. Why must we wear warmer clothing. when girls get all sweaty during pe, it doesn't matter if you're wearing a tank top or not, you probably don't look like something boys are interested in. At least, I'm not.

So why oh why do we have this ridiculous dress code?

What kind of message does this give to everyone?

It tells females of all ages to hide themselves.

We shouldn't have to hide. We are people, just like men.

I'm actually not a huge feminist. I don't like the word we use for it, and I don't like certain things about it, but as far as equal rights, I think that we deserve the same.

Like, the right to wear a tank top without having to worry about the way a boy will react to it.

I promise you, out of school, girls wear tank tops, and that doesn't make a guy go crazy. Promise.

All in all, things at school are pretty upsetting. We shouldn't be ruining confidence in a place where we're supposed to learn. However, we are. And I'm fed up with it.

The owner of a very seductive shoulder,
Me.