In a quiet college town,
Sun on my skin, sea breeze blowing 'round.
Laughing at the girl I used to be,
Never ready for how sweet goodbyes can be.

Couldn’t afford even one misstep,
We didn’t know a thing, but we leapt.
Why’d we even try, knowing we’d fall apart?
Wearing skorts and denim like they held our hearts.

You learned my secrets, every one,
Now I see—that fight might’ve been our song.

Every time I glance back, it hits me the same,
No tears now—I’m staring at who I became.
That piece of my past was the best thing that was mine,
Can you believe we stood at the edge of time?

In a blank-walled, unfamiliar room,
Swearing my daughter won’t trace my shoes.
They turned a rule-follower into someone wild.

Flash forward—back on campus, still chasing a dream,
Boxes in hand, settling in again, it seems.
Wearing the right blouse, long pants, I look the part,
The halls are empty, but I’ve got my start.

There’s a desk, a drawer, with my name on it now,
Still pretending I’ve got it all figured out somehow.
New faces, warm smiles—I won’t let them in too deep,
Remember when we sat in the grass, beneath the sky so steep?

That’s the memory I carry,
Us laughing softly, so airy.
Forget the looming deadlines,
You turned a good girl into a rebel, mine.

Every time I look, the feeling hasn’t changed,
I’m holding back tears, watching my past rearranged.
This moment—forever the best thing that was mine,
Can you believe we once thought we’d take on the world, so fine?

In that same quiet, colourless room,
My daughter won’t repeat my mistakes, in bloom.
They made a rebel out of me,
A good girl, once lost, now free.

I remember that night—half past midnight,
I rushed out, found you drunk on the sidewalk, in fright.
Screaming for help, that’s when I knew,
I’d fallen, and it was the end too.

Now I’m unlocking truths I never dared before,
If I try, I can make it, I’m sure.
Still guarding all that’s mine,
I swear I won’t repeat what broke me, I’ll shine.

For the first time, I believe in myself,
Pruning my life, cherishing my wealth.
Goodbye means forever now,
It caught me off guard somehow.

Bracing myself for something new,
But I’ve got people in my corner, true.
Sticky notes scattered across the floor,
We’re piecing life together, wanting more.

They’re learning fast, I see,
Just when it starts to feel right, we agree.
Hold on, we can make it work,
When pressure hits, I think of us, we’ll never shirk.

Our mistakes were just different ones,
But together, we’ll rise like the sun.

Still that same feeling when I look back,
Will this déjà vu ever end, no track?
Fighting back tears as I face the mirror,
This will always be the best thing that was mine, clearer.

Standing at the start again,
In a room with bare, unpainted walls, no end.
My daughter won’t follow my footsteps,
They made a rebel out of someone good, no regrets.

You once said I was the one,
And I believed you, under the sun.
Kissing under fairy lights and photos,
It was the kind of night made for stolen moments, those.

Part of me is still there,
That world was all I knew, so fair.
Now I protect my heart with everything I have,
I’m going to rise, no matter the past’s path.

As long as I never look back, I’ll be alright,
This journey—my future, shining bright.