growing up

The first day of Kindergarten
Anxiety, excitement, freedom
Mommy cries; I say, it’s okay
I’m coming back.

Junior High brings horror stories
Kids in garbage cans, stuffed in lockers
How quickly I find this is not true
Yet I’m still scared. I feel inferior.

High School. Who would have thought it would come so quickly
And pass even more quickly. So many difficult classes.
Emotional breakdowns, sleepless nights filled with homework.
Hallways of soap operas lay before me. Take me away.

Here I stand at the verge of college, ready more than ever to graduate and leave.
Still a little frightened at what life might hold for me, I never know, how can I?
Worries of every shape and form, for I am busier now than ever before.
The day arrives, my Mother cries again. I hug her and whisper in her ear:
Mommy, It’s okay, I’m coming back.