From 1999 High School Classic to Gen Z Obsession: the Timeless Evolution of the '10 Things' Poem Scene

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The poem's power lies in its simplicity. Kiwi Smith originally drafted the lines based on a real relationship log from her own adolescence, keeping the rhythm conversational rather than strictly poetic. The repetition of "I hate" functions as a defensive wall, each line setting up an everyday grievance before collapsing under the weight of genuine attachment.

Here is the full text recited by Kat Stratford in the finished film:

I hate the way you talk to me, and the way you cut your hair.

I hate the way you drive my car. I hate it when you stare.

I hate your big dumb combat boots, and the way you read my mind.

I hate you so much that it makes me sick; it even makes me rhyme.

I hate it, I hate the way you're always right. I hate it when you lie.

I hate it when you make me laugh, even worse when you make me cry.

I hate it when you're not around, and the fact that you didn't call.

But mostly I hate the way I don't hate you.

Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.

The structure mirrors the psychological process of admission. Kat begins with surface-level complaints, the combat boots, the driving, the hair, before transitioning into psychological intrusion ("the way you read my mind"). By the time she reaches "I hate it when you're not around," the pretense of contempt has completely disintegrated. The final lines abandon the rhyme scheme entirely, leaving her emotionally exposed before walking out of the frame.