"Honey, what’d you learn in school today?"

I learned that the world is cruel. I learned that people will try to take your dreams. They will try to rip them into tiny little shreds and then burn them; burn them until they’re only ashes and there’s no proof they existed. There’s only the memory, and you’ll start wondering if the memory was only a dream.

I learned that they do this because someone did this to them; because they’ll feel better if they drag you down into a pit of hell with them. It makes them feel like they’ve won. I’ve learned that sometimes, you’ll be just like them. Sometimes, you’ll rip someone else’s dreams just to ‘win’.

I learned losing a dream feels like someone electrocuted your nerves; I learned that electrocuted nerves hurt like hell. I learned that sometimes you have to cry; there’s no other choice and you have no control over it and you don’t like it at all, no, you don’t. But it does make you feel better.

I learned that you either have to let go of the hatred or risk becoming just like them. I learned that the only way to ‘win’ is to have hope and keep your dreams - no matter how many times they’re burnt or ripped or trashed. I learned that, if you truly believe in your dreams, no one can ever take them. I learned that, beneath all the ashes, there’s some parts that people haven’t been able to burn yet.

"Nothing."