A Texas teen displayed his defiance toward a state standardized test.

Kyron Birdine tweeted a photo of the word “YOLO” (you only live once) with a smiley face on the essay portion of his exam. At the top of the page he wrote, "I have the TAKS test to study for, not this unneeded craziness," referring to another state test that he will be graduating under.

"I was being a high school kid getting on Twitter," he told KENS 5. Birdine sent the tweet to the Arlington Independent School District and the Texas Education Agency and soon was pulled out of class and suspended for four days.

yolo tweet
KENS 5

"Basically said something about it being a 'breach of security' and that with the breach of security they have to have some sort of punishment," he said.

Birdine’s tweet has since been deleted but his Twitter feed has been inundated with messages of support, a meme and even the hashtag #FreeKyron.

“Stick it to the man, Kyron! High school doesn't matter much. Just graduate and study something useful in college,” Todd Wilson tweeted to the teen.

Birdine, who thinks his punishment is harsh, defends his actions on the basis of free speech.

“Some people are acting like I tweeted nuclear launch codes. I expressed my opinion on red lines. No more, no less,” Birdine tweeted about the feedback he has received.

The phrase "YOLO" was popularized by the rapper Drake, who used it in his 2011 hit "The Motto."

Birdine maintains his position about the state standardized test.

“SAT/ACT Prep is more important than the STAAR. I need to go to college, not roam through the galaxy,” he tweeted.

RELATED STORIES
Twitter