I am your creation.
I'm neither perfect nor imperfect. I'm somewhere in between.
You've shown me everything you've known.
You've taught me what is right and what is wrong.
I'm strong, smart, and independent. I'm your prodigy.
I'm a working masterpiece, changing with every new thing I learn.
You continue to teach me, to raise me.
Even when the law says I'm old enough to teach myself.
You haven't given up on me.
Through all the headaches, heartbreaks, and finances, you're still here.
You've had moments when you've cursed me out.
Told me I'm no good, that I'm not your problem anymore.
You're completely done with me.
I get it. Remember what I said.
I'm not perfect. I'm not imperfect.
I've got a few tweaks, I'm still learning.
Just because I haven't learned yet doesn't mean it's the end of the world.
If I can't talk, I can't change my mind.
I can't speak, I can't learn, I can't be changed.

So please don't yell. Don't tell me you don't care.
Remember when I crawled on your floor?
You didn't yell because I couldn't walk up the stairs.
You didn't yell because I couldn't read a book.
You didn't yell because you couldn't. Why?
Because I didn't know better.
I still don't know better.
If you don't let me speak, how can I learn?
How can you point me in the right direction?
How can anything change?

I no longer want to keep my mouth shut. I am an individual.
You've shown me, now let me show you.
I'm wise beyond my years, Mom.
I didn't jump to conclusions, Dad.
I have an idea. Let me express it. Then tell me it's wrong. I'll change.

I have to learn to crawl before I can walk.

It's one thing to be honest
And another to be heartbroken.
It's one thing to be broken
And another to be angry.
It's one thing to want an escape
And another to be scared of change.
It's one thing to let go
And another to live in nostalgia.
It's one thing to flirt
And another to cheat.
It's one thing to feel
And another to hide.
It's one thing, or another.

A pool full of water can be free to roam
But when you first start, you stay close to home.
You kept me nearby, taught me all the rules
Showed me how to stay far from the fools
I stuck by your side until I learned my way
And now I remember, that was the day
The day you let my wings be free
You'd trusted in everything that you'd taught me
Watching from afar, with caution in eye
I still followed the rules as I waved bye-bye
You'd never been more proud to see
What an amazing young woman I'd come to be
With compliments around, you shook your head
You taught me well, rules followed, you said
But one day, upon swimming, I took a leap
And may have gotten myself in too deep
I did not drown, only splashed a bit
But you finally noticed and threw a fit
I didn't want you to forget all the great things I did
So when I leaped again, my splash small, I had hid
You noticed the waves ripple across the pool
You thought I'd taken you for some kind of fool
Now this rule I have broken, more than one time
My pool has been taken, no mistakes on your dime
I apologized in full, amidst every cry
Yet you still refuse, you still keep me dry
You forgot the one time I swam on my own
You now see me only as accident prone
I'm sorry for jumping, getting over my head
I should've listened to what you had said
But the more I swim, the more I learn
The more I leap, the more I yearn
One of these days, you will remember and see
That proud little girl, swimming away, was me.