The Passage of Time

2022

As a child, I often longed to grow up.

Imagining the endless possibilities

With the coming of age.

No longer would I be confined

By rules, twisted by the very people

Who is there to enforce them.

“Go to bed now!”

When I grow up, I will not have bedtimes.

“Stop playing on your computer!”

When I am older, I will play all the games I want.

“You’ve eaten enough ice cream for today.”

When I am older, I will eat all the ice cream I desire.

Primary School was a chore.

“Just get through this and you will be a teenager”

That was what I constantly told myself.

Time flew by in the blink of an eye

PSLE came and went and soon

It was my turn to bid my old school farewell.

Finally, I was thirteen,

Validating my new status as a teenager.

Not much changed though,

Though adults listen a bit more,

When I was younger, things were certainly nicer.

Less responsibility,

Seems ironic that

The one thing I wanted

Growing up – is not something that great.

The delusions my young mind thought about

The freedom, and the privileges, were not as big a deal

That I thought it was. Once lit up with excitement,

Now, slumped shoulders, a bored expression,

filled with dejection.