Four years ago.
Walking through the halls,
Everything around new.
So many people,
Many older and wiser than you.
Just a fish,
Thrown into a massive sea.
Fifteen - there was still time for you.
It was the beginning of the next
Stage of life.
Four years of it.

Three years ago.
Returning fish, grown a little more.
Summer spent outside,
Marching,
Playing to the beat of your own drum.
You first tasted love;
Learned the meaning of heartache.
Learned what it's like to lose someone.
Sweet sixteen, spreading your wings.
You were learning to fly,
And time still had no meaning.

Two years ago,
Returning to the busiest year yet.
Hours of studying, marching, hanging out with friends.
The time was running out,
But you were too young to care.
You wouldn't be seventeen forever,
So why worry.
You held the world on your shoulders.

A year ago,
The last first day of school
Ever.
You felt what it was like to lose friends.
You learned what it's like to be strong.
You learned what you're worth.
Applying for college,
Acceptance letters arriving.
It's all spinning so fast,
Only eighteen, took a shortcut to being full grown.
And you look back on the memories,
All the time wondering to yourself,
Where did the time go?