As she wakes up,
she looks in the mirror
But the girl she sees staring back,
is not who she once was
The grass beneath her feet,
the sound of her mother calling her back inside because it’s too dark
is replaced by scrolling endlessly
and full agendas
Stress, anxiety, fear,
all things that the girl she once was never had
When overcommitment was a word she could not spell
When missing school caused a celebration,
not long nights of extra work
When the blue sky was not replaced by navy folders
She didn’t realize that
her time in the sun was fleeting
Yet, amidst the replacements,
the girl that once was sits in her heart
And as she steps into the sun,
and feels the grass beneath her feet,
she realizes the girl that she still is.
