Nice job high school! You’ve made it! You’re officially the reason I don’t read for fun anymore! Congrats.

As much as that was dripping in sarcasm… it’s the truth.

A few years ago, my Thanksgiving break would have been spent curled up at my grandparents’ house with one book on my hands and another sitting on the floor by the couch waiting to be read. This year, my Thanksgiving was spent doing one of two things: doing homework and stressing about the homework I needed to do every time I was pulled to do something else. Don’t get me wrong–I spent time during this long weekend relaxing. But it was the most unrelaxing relaxing I’ve ever done.

I used to read hundreds of books a year. So many books I couldn’t even remember everything I had read. So many books that their plots got tangled in my head. So many books I would get a chapter into a book and realize I had read it before.

But now, all that has changed and not because I’ve lost my passion for reading. I’ve lost the time. I no longer have the time to sit and lose myself in a book. Now, I’m controlled by two things: the clock ticking in my ear and the work piling up all around me.

I need an escape. I desperately need an escape. But you, oh “amazing” high school, have driven me from that, and drowned me so effectively that I no longer have time to even look for a life raft.

So far this school year, I have finished a grand total of one book; and the worst part is that you, oh “top level” high school, would have no problem with that. In fact, you might even be proud of me for finishing a whole book already.

Well, here’s what I have to say to that, oh “successful” high school: no. No more letting you drag me away from an activity proven to increase my overall performance in life. No more letting you pull me away from something that brings me joy. No more letting the pile of crap you give me to do every day keep me from genuinely learning about the world.