At age six,
she was scared of the the monsters under her bed.

At age ten,
she was scared that she wouldn't fit in.

At age fourteen,
she was scared of the monsters in her head.

At age sixteen,
she was scared that the boy she “loved” didn’t love her back.

At age eighteen,
she was scared that she wouldn't get into college.

At age twenty-two,
she was scared that she couldn't pay her bills.

And at age twenty-six,
she was scared that she had finally grown up.


                                                               j.z.