The Price of Independence is Childhood

There was a day amidst the constant stress of studying

Combined with the now infinite moments spent away from

home that I noticed that

There was a price for my newfound freedom

And that independence grew from the seeds

Of a plant that died so it could live.

A moment in time when I saw myself

Eating oatmeal for breakfast when

It used to be the food I despised most.

When dreams were replaced by reality

And carefree was no longer a word in my dictionary.

I floated across combinations of letters

That no longer frequented my mind

And the word adult kept rising to the surface.

I could no longer suppress it.

The adult had come to replace the child

Who’s body outgrew the child in her mind.

Who strove to be a child at heart

But somehow grew up in the process

Who decided that having a job and money

Was no longer something she no longer had to worry about.

The funny thing about time is that it takes and takes.

It does not wait for anyone

And sooner or later it catches up with us

To remind us that adulthood is inevitable

If we live long enough to reach it.