Too Quick

Glow-up, Grow up Scholarship Slam Entry

Life is a box of chocolates

everything was always brightest when brand new –

shoes, clothes, smiles and memories

but as the years past,

everything that was brand new was no longer bright –

shoes became symbols of status,

clothes became ideas of worth and ownership,

smiles became the metaphor of sadness

and memories became the lasting security blanket of the youth that was lost too soon and damaged too early.

those who grew before us proclaimed that we had it easy with all the technological advancements of our time,

but what they do not realize is the constant fear that paralyzes us.

for those who are victimized due to a prehistoric racial factor, we had to grow quickly,

that officer may not always be black or that bullet may not even be meant for us.

those who are discriminated against due to a preference must decide which one is worth more:

their truth or their life.

all my generation had to grow fast and had to prolong our “glow-up”,

because for some

our glow-up meant unwanted sexual attention,

undeserved abuse of all shapes of form.

the glow-up was real and the grow up was even realer.

you never know what you’re gonna get.

S.Tinnin