Toyou.
To you, who does not know me.
To you, who with a stroke of yourkeyboard
Has the power to kill my faith and destroy my dwindlingself-confidence.
To you, on whom my dreams may depend.
To you, Iask only this:

Please look beyond my SAT scores
The single test thatcontrols my fate.
Please see that the pressure was too great
Theexpectations too high.
Please realize that I am capable of more.
Pleaseknow that the gym was hot
And the questions unfair.
Please see me formore than a square, thin, bald number
Please, I beg, see me for who I am
A round, colored, multi-dimensional person.

Please look beyond the 83 inphysics,
The one that pulled all my 99s and 98s and 95s
To a mixednumber of 93 - one of miniscule value
Please know that how things work, andhow they move,
And roller coasters, and unforgiving teachers
Are notwhat make my mind evolve.
Please realize I am more than an 83, I am worthmore
I am capable of better
Please, I beg of you, don't see me as that83, as the black and white number
Please see me for who I am, a terrain ofcolors blended into a single frame
Waiting for the chance only you cangive.

Please don't punish me for that single detention
The onemistake in my four years.
Please realize I apologized for throwing that orangepeel,
For littering the already-stained floor.
Please know I am not avandal,
A convict to proper society
Please don't see me as unworthy ofyou
And your unbearable standards.
Please, I beg you, see me for who Iam.

See my eyes, so tired from the sleep I never get
From the endlessnights I stay awake studying for AP tests,

or working out a single mathproblem.
See my eyes which could easily belong to a retired 60-year-oldman
But instead they are mine, those of a desperate academic
Frantically searching for my place in an educated world.

See my soul, soinnocent and untouched.
So ready to break free from a small town and evensmaller people.
See my soul, afraid to lie or cheat or, heaven forbid,steal
For fear of never escaping the cruelty of my own mind.

See me,please, for who I am:
An unhappy,
Struggling,
Tired,
Worn-out,
Hopeless,
Stupid
Teenager

A teenager working onlyfor you whose imminent rejection
Will crush me and my future
And please,after you've sent the letter
And accepted the 1600 and 4.0
Please see thetears streaming down my cheeks,
And the wilted smile and angry parents
And dashed dreams.
Please, after all of that, remember my name
And alwayswonder what I could have done.
Always wonder who I might havebecome.