Satirical Satires Satirise

A day in the life of a student can be labourious. It often unfolds as follows: wake up (late), rush to the school bus, sit through the ramblings of boring teachers, get overloaded with homework, and drop into bed (late). This is repeated day-after-day. Who would want to toil through such a burdensome existence, when, in the end, it all goes to helping struggle through longer and more monotonous days of working at a job? The best way to live life to the full – grabbing the bull by the horns and making something of life – would be to be independent now, to break out of the prison we call “education,” and experience a life truly worthwhile. Where can such a life be found? On the street.

Living life as a street-child has often been criticised or pitied by society as low, demeaning, dangerous, or a consequence of a poor domestic life. These are all horrible misconceptions that blacken the status of street-pioneers and opaque the blessings that such heroes as Old Man Sam, Tissue-Paper Kid, or even the drunk hobo sitting wasted at the corner of the block have been bestowed. To follow in their footsteps on such a journey as they have endeavoured to set out on makes is possible to share with them in all the beauty that street-dwelling has to offer.

Imagine sitting in a stuffy, noisy, odoriferous classroom. It dulls the senses, sullies imagination, and liquidates creativity. Worst of all, those stuck-up nerds who “want to learn something” are always causing trouble with the loud-mouth show-offs. There is no need for that kind of distraction. It only provides a drawback to the true essence of learning. Flee the scene, and escape over and above the barriers of boredom, stereotype, and lies! One must get out to where the air is fresh and the senses can be excited; out to where inspiration flows like milk and honey from the Promised Land. On the streets, drink deep, for the offer of independence is free and the consequences, priceless. So what if you’re a kid; so what if you don’t think you have what it takes; so what if you don't know what to do: living in city streets is life's greatest learning experience. School offers nothing more than facts. But the streets are where fact is accompanied by the joys of fiction and the gift of free-thinking.

Hold on. Free-thinking? Such action is disallowed at school and often results in punishment. This is not the case in the real world. Living life to the max takes more than just knowledge – it takes experience. School and education are a mock-up for honing skills and talents that are never needed! In contrast, the streets offer its citizen's freedom to do as they please, in order to build useful and enduring skills. The consequences (if they come at all) make people wiser. The struggles that one face (often rarely) will not be in vain. The safety of house and home leave one weak and incompetent. However, the streets offer protection of experience. There's no need to ignore the truths of this world by living a sheltered school-life. The real action and adventure of adolescence are in the streets, parks, alleys, drainage ditches, doorways, and cardboard-boxes of our cities. Live life to the full. Live in the streets!