01.02.15

I wrote this poem my junior year of high school in my Intro to Composition/Fiction class, and I just recently rediscovered it so I thought that I would share it. This photo seemed to fit the theme of the poem pretty well. This photo is of me and my friend, Kamrie, playing Just Dance.


"On Turning Sixteen" (based on the poem "On Turning Ten" by Billy Collins)

The whole idea of it makes me feel giddy,
like I'm about to open presents on Christmas morning,
or meet my celebrity crush -
that overwhelming urge I get
just to dance around my room
even though I'm a terrible dancer,
because there is just no other way to express my excitement.

You tell me that now is the time to stop acting like a child,
but I can't, because I simply don't know how to grow up
and forget all the memories that shaped my childhood.
At four I was a mini Picasso,
painting pictures in my art studio,
At seven I was a prima ballerina
and at ten I was ready to be an Olympic gymnast
to show the world that I was the best.

But now I am mostly at the window
waiting for that first star to appear in the night sky
so I can make a wish.
I wish for whatever thought goes through my head first...
to get an A on my APUSH test
or to have that cute boy notice me for once.

This is the beginning of a new me, I say to myself
as I march through the halls of the high school.
I don't necessarily have to grow up,
but I do have to grow older.

It seems only yesterday I used to believe 
that growing up would be fun
that I'd be able to do grown up things 
But now I realize that it's a trap, 
and I want to stay young forever.