This is What We're Taught

This is what we're taught
By age two or age three
We work hard in school
Go to college to get a degree

And that degree will
Tell the world who we are
Or who we are trying to be for society
While our dreams float among the stars

We get a job, build credit,
Buy some debt, save up, buy a car,
Because possessions apparently
Reveal how successful we are

Eventually we might
Even buy our first house
Meanwhile, we meet people, go on dates
Until we choose to make one a spouse

We get married, settle down,
Get a dog, have some kids
We love them, raise them, and tell them to
“Attack life, do it better than we did”

And this is our life
Pressured and planned out before we start
How much say do we really have
In becoming who we are?

How might one break the status quo
And walk away from all one has ever known?