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His Ghostly Degree
PROLOGUE
He rushes into higher education amongst all his personal drama
Leaves behind the life he once had to escape his own trauma
With a new life to call his own, nobody recognizes his face
In this huge university, he believes he can take it all at his own pace
But what he does not know is that this was all a delusion
This escape from himself would only further cause more confusion
The lies he tells himself would only be the beginning
As more unaddressed trauma would only come out winning
ACT 1
His first semester started out with no flaw
A normal set of classes to challenge college’s gaping maw
But fate would see that his luck would not last forever
He crumbled again and again only to be faced with another endeavor
Spring semester brought in a whole slew of failure
“Freshman Forgiveness” pardoned his mishaps, but sent him home with “thoughts and prayers”
The second year came around and he cut his classes in half
In terms of credits he was still a freshman, so he knew he would take that “victory lap”
The smile he continued to fake was something just for show
Dying on the inside but fooling those outside with a false but radiant glow
The third year began, but he was only a sophomore
Self destruction would continue to shake his mental health to his core
For outside of academics, he still pursued community
But he knew deep down his former faith would only cause more disharmony
So he closed himself off from any new pursuits
Fell back to the comfortable and familiar, settled into his roots
The questionable growth he felt would take form in the artificial
As he continued to hurt himself and consume his time amongst the superficial
ACT 2
The fourth year arrived, but he was still only a sophomore
Finished only half of the previous year while leaving everything else at the door
Anxiety and depression peaked at an all time high,
So he chose to take a break from classes and searched for a job to apply
Settling on Panera Bread, something new had begun
Entangled with a coworker, he lost himself in all the fun
This tango of manipulation saw him losing all control
At age 21, the year of supposed fun, things had taken their final toll
Arriving at his “victory lap” still a junior, the reality became so surreal
Left behind by his best friends who finished their academic ordeal
Wandering on his lonesome, he scrambled for new roommates to find
A walking dead man that just forced himself back onto the grind
Misfortune still pursued him and he had to call it quits
Family funds could not afford the full year so the second semester was not green-lit
The crushing realization led to mental flagellation that was anything but mild
From then, he viewed himself as his parents’ problematic child
For he had nothing to offer and nothing to give
A degree defined his worth and that’s all he had to live
FINALE
Returning home he hung his head in shame
He concluded that things would never ever be the same
Falling into rock bottom, his body regained his rotund frame
Diagnosed depression, anxiety, hypertension, and sleep apnea became anything but tame
Going MIA, he only kept a few real friends
Always sulking, he often prayed for his own end
Haunted daily by visions that he could see in his room
Ghosts of his past taunted him and spelt out his doom
Overindulging in gaming entertainment, he couldn’t help but wonder
“Are these 950 hours partaking in wild combat and breathless landscapes anything but a blunder”?
Those hobbies that were once fun were now unhealthy obsessions
Familial arguments often ended in partial concessions
This state of living was all he was made for as all of you can see
For he was now a wandering ghost that believed he was defined for not having a degree
© Michael Kevin Olegario
He rushes into higher education amongst all his personal drama
Leaves behind the life he once had to escape his own trauma
With a new life to call his own, nobody recognizes his face
In this huge university, he believes he can take it all at his own pace
But what he does not know is that this was all a delusion
This escape from himself would only further cause more confusion
The lies he tells himself would only be the beginning
As more unaddressed trauma would only come out winning
ACT 1
His first semester started out with no flaw
A normal set of classes to challenge college’s gaping maw
But fate would see that his luck would not last forever
He crumbled again and again only to be faced with another endeavor
Spring semester brought in a whole slew of failure
“Freshman Forgiveness” pardoned his mishaps, but sent him home with “thoughts and prayers”
The second year came around and he cut his classes in half
In terms of credits he was still a freshman, so he knew he would take that “victory lap”
The smile he continued to fake was something just for show
Dying on the inside but fooling those outside with a false but radiant glow
The third year began, but he was only a sophomore
Self destruction would continue to shake his mental health to his core
For outside of academics, he still pursued community
But he knew deep down his former faith would only cause more disharmony
So he closed himself off from any new pursuits
Fell back to the comfortable and familiar, settled into his roots
The questionable growth he felt would take form in the artificial
As he continued to hurt himself and consume his time amongst the superficial
ACT 2
The fourth year arrived, but he was still only a sophomore
Finished only half of the previous year while leaving everything else at the door
Anxiety and depression peaked at an all time high,
So he chose to take a break from classes and searched for a job to apply
Settling on Panera Bread, something new had begun
Entangled with a coworker, he lost himself in all the fun
This tango of manipulation saw him losing all control
At age 21, the year of supposed fun, things had taken their final toll
Arriving at his “victory lap” still a junior, the reality became so surreal
Left behind by his best friends who finished their academic ordeal
Wandering on his lonesome, he scrambled for new roommates to find
A walking dead man that just forced himself back onto the grind
Misfortune still pursued him and he had to call it quits
Family funds could not afford the full year so the second semester was not green-lit
The crushing realization led to mental flagellation that was anything but mild
From then, he viewed himself as his parents’ problematic child
For he had nothing to offer and nothing to give
A degree defined his worth and that’s all he had to live
FINALE
Returning home he hung his head in shame
He concluded that things would never ever be the same
Falling into rock bottom, his body regained his rotund frame
Diagnosed depression, anxiety, hypertension, and sleep apnea became anything but tame
Going MIA, he only kept a few real friends
Always sulking, he often prayed for his own end
Haunted daily by visions that he could see in his room
Ghosts of his past taunted him and spelt out his doom
Overindulging in gaming entertainment, he couldn’t help but wonder
“Are these 950 hours partaking in wild combat and breathless landscapes anything but a blunder”?
Those hobbies that were once fun were now unhealthy obsessions
Familial arguments often ended in partial concessions
This state of living was all he was made for as all of you can see
For he was now a wandering ghost that believed he was defined for not having a degree
© Michael Kevin Olegario
