YOUTH

Yelling on the playground with joyful cries. Protesting when it’s time to come inside, just one more minute, I’m about to win this game! Skinned knees and melted popsicles simmer together in the summer heat. You think that this is paradise, what more could there be to life? Excitedly putting up decorations for the holidays and crushing loved ones with your hugs as the year ends. Sleeping in on weekends, winning countless tournaments with friends, and rolling around on the grass, laughing until you fall. Soon it ends. You are

Outgrowing that ghastly color of your room like your clothes. No longer having to jump high to grab the flour, you reach up confidently. You seem to be reaching a lot of things these days: maturity, longer class, the high dive, and later to no playtimes. You are almost at the top of the food chain– the great big shark to the little krill. But you try to remember your small shoes and “be a role model for the children”. The best spots to eat and the shady trees are your domain to talk and laugh with your friends. Or, they are a quiet comfort and a steady friend to read a book under and sleep. As the asphalt burns your palms, standing and hugging favorite teachers or friends seems more painful than you thought it would be.

Unaccompanied, you stride into your new school. Why are things so big? The teachers, people you called friends, and your “classmates” loom over you. The thing they call a locker feels cold to the touch, like the school. But eventually, it warms up as you spin the dial. You see so many faces, it’s easy to get lost in a sea of so many fish. Standing out was never so hard, but seemingly easy. Sports, clubs, and lunchtime activities scream at you to pick them! You find a few, and keep your head down, or shine bright.

Time seems to fly by, and a few years later, you find yourself at the end of another era. Taking another huge step, you move onto bigger and better things. You look back in time and see how much you’ve changed. Look at you now! You’ve succeeded and failed at so many things, and they have all made you into a better person. If not, they check off a list to prove that you tried. It’s now time to move along, clean out your life. Say goodbye, for now, to your friends, and plan a few things before summer ends. Before you know it, you are in

High school. Wow. They say, “you’re so old and mature now, where do you want to go and what do you want to do?” “I have a friend who can help you”… “Don’t do that, it’s a waste of time!” “I have the perfect job for you, would you want it?” You think I have all the answers? I’m aged on the outside, but still young on the inside. I’ve got a whole life left to live, and you ask me if I want to have kids? No, I’ll wait it out and see what's in store for me. I’ve got so many pictures to take, people to meet, and places to go. So for now, I just want to enjoy my YOUTH.