The American College Dream

I made it!

I'm in!

Eighteen and the best. 

Eighteen and accepted. 

Eighteen and ready to be great.

The biggest fish of its niche swimming into the ocean.

I made it! 

I’m here.

The weight of possibility. 

The pain of insecurity. 

The structures unfamiliar. 

The pace—

I’m here. 

I can still—

There’s time?

If I just… I can’t.

Twenty, back home.

Back to the folds of an unwelcoming familiarity. 

A stifling corrective love from family. 

The well-meaning push into mental therapy. 

Twenty-two, diminished.