One second,
you’re cartwheeling through fields of barley
The next your back aches
after you sleep funny

One second,
you’re instant-messaging all night
The next you’re falling asleep
on the sofa

One second,
you’re spending all your pocket money on sweets
The next you’re asking
Why is cheese so fucking expensive

One second,
you’re rocking your double denim
The next you’re wondering
when did exposed underwear become a fashion trend

One second,
you’re seeing your friends every single day
The next it takes three months
of planning just to get a drink together

One second,
you’re headbanging in the heart of the moshpit
The next you’re asking
why didn’t you get seated tickets for this concert

One second,
you know all the music
The next you’re looking at a festival lineup and asking who are these people?
Am I this out of touch? No, it’s the children that are wrong.

One second,
you’re terrified of getting older
The next you realise
that it’s not such a bad thing

One second,
you’re young and stupid
The next you’re
Old and wise

One second,
you’re asking permission for everything
The next you’re
embracing your independence

One second,
you’re lost and alone
The next, your road and direction
Are clear

One second,
you’re surrounded by fake friends
The next, you only have two or three close ones
But that’s all you need

One second,
you’re going through heartbreak after heartbreak
The next, you’ve found the person
Who means everything

One second,
you’re writing all your thoughts in a journal that you hide under your bed
The next you’re reading them out for
Everybody to hear

One second,
you’re screaming into the void
And the next you realise
That everybody actually wants to listen to you

One second,
you’re looking out your bedroom window,
at the stars, wondering if it will ever get better
And the next you realise that it did
If not now, then it will do.
It will get better.

For we are the lucky ones
We have the opportunity to grow older
And wiser
To learn and grow
From our mistakes
Not everybody gets that chance

*

Sometimes I feel far older than my twenty-eight years. But maybe that’s not always such a bad thing.