Boundaries.

Human society is chock-full of boundaries that both protect us and restrict us. In the picture above, there are two distinct sets of boundaries, one obvious and the other less visible. Within the picture, the man in power armor is being enclosed by the award. There is nothing much else to this. The award focuses the viewer on the man in power armor, which then accentuates the subject of the photo. However, there is another, less obvious boundary, which is directly linked with the object used to create the boundary. The award represents the nature of the boundaries that bind students, the award represents the burdening mindset that pushes students down and doesn’t permit them to express themselves and enjoy their high school lives. Students are regularly pushed to get the *most* awards, the *highest* grades, the *highest* SAT scores and those factors lead them to restrict their self-expression. Those boundaries are part of what keep them from enjoying who they are as youth. According to the Parent Resource Program’s statistics (http://prp.jasonfoundation.com/facts/youth-suicide-statistics/), suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth aged 12 to 18. A large portion of the blame for these abhorrently high statistics is due to the nature of the boundaries placed on youth in terms of fulfilling expectations placed on them. If instructors and teachers continue to enforce strict boundaries and expectations on the youth under their care, they will perpetuate a society that rewards numerical achievements and diminishes self-expression.