so I bought the shoes
because they were on sale and because I had the money
and because I liked them before they were cool
not because I wanted you to like me.
then I tried to fuel my rebellion with the collar
but I bought dog tags instead
because I was afraid the collar wouldn't fit
not because I wanted you to like me.
my mother calls them cute.
and I mixed the colours on my nails
to make a social statement,
not because I wanted compliments.

but I've never had the balls to wear the shoes
because I would be well over six feet tall in them.
and when I wear the dog tags I feel as though everyone
is fascinated by their reflections.
and any social statement is lost in the collective void
of high school students' brains
because they just like to look at pretty packages
and there is only ONE definition of the word.
and everything I say is misinterpreted and everything I say
comes out to you sounding like
I just wanted you to like me.

I just wanted you to like me.
but it's always been obvious to me that
my kind doesn't sit well with yours.
just now I finally learned how not to care and how to rebel.
I am finished with looking good on your terms.
now I look good on mine.
and trust me,
if I wanted to look like you,
I would look so much like you that you wouldn't even know
I was there.