Report Cards Followed Us Into Adulthood

 Once a year,

a paper decided everything.

Parents waited.
Teachers judged.
Relatives asked questions.

“How much did you get?”

Numbers spoke louder than effort.

A child with low marks felt small.
A child with high marks felt scared to fall.


There was no escape.

Even today, as adults,
we live with report cards.

Performance reviews.
Appraisals.
Targets.

We smile and say we are fine.
But inside, we are still waiting for approval.

The pressure changed its name.
But it never left.

We did not fail childhood.

Childhood failed us.

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