I knew everything when I was seventeen.
Every answer I would think of and every
topic I made up when it was something I never
heard of in my life.
My life,
I thought,
was on everyone else’s mind.
I told what I had suffered and been through
up to that point.

I’m twenty, and I now realize I can’t predict
the future.
I thought I went through enough when I was seventeen
and turns out at that age I was still dealing with
enough baggage.
My life,
is something,
I am told to not talk about,
nor your problems,
or yourself.

Everyone matters,
so acknowledge it.
We may never sit in this circle
again.
As we disperse,
move on with the memory of the
laughter and topic.
Learn from what
you don’t know.

To the parent who doesn’t know how to
put together a child’s birthday party.
For the teenage boy who lies and says he doesn’t
cry.
This is for the girl who learns the hard way
to not play dumb.
To the middle school teacher who’s heart is pounding before
their next class.
For the control freak who has absolutely nothing better to do.

Get a life,
but get the thought that you are
the top of everything out of your head.
Grow, learn, and
question.