You know, when I was in Brazil, I discovered while in a bar, that HOPE is what brings you happiness. However, at the same time, it is the most atrocious human error; and we have many.
Ok. Ok. Ok. Enough depression. Last month I had hopes about not going to school and going to the “paro del 21F.” I felt that fighting for what I think is right is way more important than sitting down on a school desk that’s slightly moved forward so that my OCD could kick in. Unfortunately, I won’t graduate if I keep missing school, so my high hopes of going out and scream “Bolivia dijo NO” were now vanished. I was mad. Really mad. And I got even angrier when I got to school and heard Ms. Kerscher, with no hesitation, say, “attendance will be taken online.” I was not able to go to a protest and now, school reaffirmed to me that going to school that day was completely useless.
We were about 35 students and 10 teachers locked in the library from 8 am to 2 pm. Oh sorry, to 3:15; a five-student advisory was, apparently, really important. 50 people in a library all using computers was a perfectly managed situation. The internet was so fast I could do all of my assignments. The smell of just-awake people was refreshing. And of course, the silence produced by the students who wanted to work was peaceful. Luckily, during Bolivian History, Ms. Soliz offered me some candy and tea. It was great. The most exciting moment of the day, of course, was going to admin with Ms. Soliz and get a tea bag from the teachers’ room; using the excuse of having some kind of mystical Senior Privilege. After that, hope kicked in again. I thought I would go to volleyball practice and enjoy being at school for 2 hours. But, NO. All extracurricular activities were canceled. I went home that day with a question in my head that had no answer. I was frustrated. The question popped up every minute and I could not answer it. Why was school open today?
One week later I have an answer I did not want to share since it is excessively similar to a conspiracy theory. However, I could not answer the question with something more rational. So here goes my answer: Politics and money. Why would the Ministerio de Educación allow schools to close if the protest was against them? And why would the school close if the Ministry would penalize them with a fine? I know, answering a question with two more is not really an answer. However, this is what I could come up in a week.
This part of the article is meant to be my most sincere opinion about this topic. And if you know me, you know that I don’t usually do this. But here it goes. The ministry is corrupt enough to choose a political strategy over the security and freedom of speech of the students. Since the ministry probably is more strict with this school, the school is scared of the government and will do whatever the authorities say, no matter how stupid it is. And they are right. They should do it. So, the government will keep being corrupt, school will keep following orders, and I will keep complaining.
