We used to dream,
Float with sparkly wings,
Wear crowns forged from daisies,
Protect ourselves from evil,
Wait for the perfect prince
With armor as shiny as stars,
We would run from demons,
Laugh ‘till our faces ached,
We built friendships
Like castles everlasting
Strong and stable.

Or so we dreamed,
We’ve all grown up,
Floating slowly into depression
Wearing shackles forged by anxiety,
Discovering you can't hide from evil,
Learning the perfect prince never existed
Turning to shiny blades,
Realising the demons
are inside our own heads,
Crying ‘till our eyes turn red,
Breaking down the friendships
That were once so strong
Now fragile and broken like glass.

We used to imagine,
Fight off fiery dragons,
Rescue the damsel in distress,
Become king and queen
Of our vast imagination,
Worry if you could go out
Into your empire,
Lead an army,
We built our imagination
Colourful and innocent
Full of magic.

No longer we imagine,
We’ve all grown up,
Fighting off cyber abuse,
Rescuing our own motivation,
Becoming the tired teen
Of the busy classroom,
Worrying what peers thought
About your every choice,
Leading childhood into adulthood,
We destroy our self esteem
Crushing it down
Down after day.

Our life used to be full of smiles,
We’ve all grown up,
We don't worry about dragons or demons
Our demons are the very people we’ve grown up with,
We try to protect ourselves from our destructive thoughts,
We become the villains of our own story,
We mask ourselves in makeup or false personalities,
We hide behind popularity and screens,
We flinch away from social activity
Just incase they smirk at what your wearing
What size your trousers are
What colour your hair is or how it's styled,
We suclud ourselves to our rooms,
We never realise how much we’re loved
We’re blind to it
All we see is our bad sides
We’re all beautiful and handsome
No matter what anyone else thinks.

Just because we grew up
Doesn't mean we have to grow up.