As a child, I often wondered,

“What sort of teenager will I become?”

“Will I be popular at school?”

“Will I go to the prom?”

“Will I be pretty, like the other girls?”

I wrapped my mind around these questions,

Like wrapping paper around a Christmas present.

I longed to see into the future,

To know what I would be like at

Fifteen?

Sixteen?

Seventeen?

“Will I drive a nice car?”

“Will I have many friends?”

“Will I date a cute boy?”

I wanted a cinema high school career,

A regular “90210” experience.

But as I grew up,

Sixth grade,

Seventh grade,

Eighth grade,

That wasn’t what I got.

Nothing was perfect –

I lied,

I cried,

I got myself in way over my head.

But I learned many things through my mistakes,

Things I would never change:

To forgive,

To forget,

To love,

To live.

So when I think about the past,

About my ten-year-old me –

The little girl with the scraggly hair,

And the training bra,

And the high hopes and big dreams,

I think to myself…

“WOULD SHE WANT TO BE JUST LIKE ME?”