no one told me there was a mandatory orientation

 By Maddie Raymond
I stand here before you to showcase my proficiency
in the heavily marketable skill of grinding myself into dust 
I have not slept in seven weeks, and do not plan to anytime soon

I have earned badges in crying,
writing out my tax forms by hand,
and tearing out little clumps of hair when I think no one is watching

I am skilled in pretending nothing is wrong when I feel little bits of my humanity flake off and fall into the growing void inside my body
Before you, I can attest that I have not felt real sunlight in at least the last quarter My contributions are unmatched, my people skills are beaten into me in a perfect spiral
I have savings
I have a car that I can drive with my eyes closed
I’ll gladly take my earrings out
Dye my hair
Dye my eyes
I’ve heard blondes are better for customer service

I have logged hundreds of hours
and I haven’t even turned eighteen 
I pay all my parking tickets the same day 
I have honed my skill of becoming nothing
just so someone I don’t know personally c
an become a god 
And I prostrate at their feet 
After all The greater good is just a code word
for someone that’s not you 

I am happy for you 
I am only happy for you 
Of course I’ll wait fifteen minutes 
Learn iMovie 
I have infinite potential 
Growth sitting in my belly 
Just enough fire in my eyes 
To give me a good attitude

Learning is a skill 
And I have learned the skill of servitude 
I’m very good at being okay with being nothing 
I stand here before you to reiterate my skill
in giving everything I have to someone
who would never do the same 
And forcing myself to love every minute 

​Maddie Raymond is 17 years old and lives in Goshen. Through writing, she has gotten to explore new perspectives, discovering things about herself along the way. What she loves most about writing is getting to experience something other than the day-to-day. Her favorite part about Woven Word has been the friends she’s made within the local writing community. ​