at age five,
we had dreams.
we believed in everything
and everything believed in us.
the world was ripe for our picking
and we could be anything.

at age nine,
our world grew more real.
our future began narrowly limited
but there was still hope
and we were still free.

at age thirteen,
our world was shattered.
dark circles beneath our eyes
covered by makeup in our desire to be pretty.
we were young
and we were terrified.

at age sixteen,
we want to die.
panic attacks in the bathroom
and waves of depression in the classroom.
nothing believes in us
and we believe in nothing.

in our minds,
there is no future.
we are trapped
in the endless
n o w.

-the scariest part about growing up
is that we never chose to