Rockstars of the Classroom

Haunting Dreams of Childhood

Do remember your first day of school when your mother dropped you off with an anxious smile and gently pushed you into the classroom with a nervous hopeful chuckle? As she watched you weave your unsteady way into the classroom she said a silent prayer over her child. Her hopes transparent later in life, that her child would do well in school and as a result have the job of his dreams in the future. This beautiful dream our parents painted for us is still a driving force behind our many successes. As this generation of dreamers nears the end of the education rainbow however, dressed in our college cap and gown, with our eager fingers already outstretched for our pot of gold, we get a rude awakening.

Weighed down with debt from all the tolls on the high road of education we get to the finish line and at last a prize! A piece of paper that says, “congratulations YOU have learned something!” The paper assures you that you are one in a million conveniently forgetting to tell you that as the world’s population is now in the 7billions; there are a lot more of you special individuals than previously imagined. Fast forward through graduation, and key note speakers telling us how we are the future. Our starkly unrecognizable futures as Starbucks baristas, home depot cashiers and a myriad of other positions slap us in the face. As we peddle our aspirations scoop by scoop at the local ice cream parlor gone are our dreams of shimmying up the ivory tower. Instead we find ourselves in a nightmare. Our waking terror sees us chasing our collective dream only to realize only a scant few will ever catch it.

Pulse racing, adrenaline surging, I ready myself as a recent college graduate to join the hot pursuit. Fleeting dreams of a cushy office job, a nice car and the icing on my ephemeral cake a life like touched up well-coifed magazine cover to share it all with. As my already weary feet begin to again pound the pavement, I stop. Like waking up out of a lucid dream that felt so real I look around my reality in horror. As we chuckled at childhood dreams of rock stardom and fame little did we realize the promises of education were just as fleeting. My Bmer, Benz, or Bentley is no where in sight and as I look around the dusty well worn road I am reminded of my first day of school; I still walk uncertainly into the world now haunted by the loving prayer spoken over me by a hopeful mother.