this isn't what i expected life to be.
i had the whole world in front of me,
everything was a possibility, there were no limitations
nothing was holding me back besides my own self-doubt.

throughout high school they told me
that i'm wasting my potential, that
i'm not trying hard enough
even though i felt like i was using all of my energy
just to get through the day,
wading through the mud
in order to make it to the end.

now as an adult i'm told the same,
that i'm able to become an incredible person
and achieve great things so long as i try,
as long as i work towards my potential and not
waste it.

what potential do i have?
if i've spent all this time climbing to the top
just to hit a wall and i don't remember being given any equipment for this part of the obstacle course.
there's nothing to scale the wall, no cracks nor holes,
nowhere to go.

pressing myself against the barrier i realize that
maybe the wall is just myself, keep me from ever unlocking
the part of myself hidden away after years of abuse.
i left high school, but i never left the mud pit.
now i can wade through it as if it were nothing but air,
but i know that everyone can see the filth i'm covered it.

i'm not sure how to pull myself out,
i don't know how to rinse myself of this dirt that's caked on my skin after all these years.