"You’ve made it to the ageof intoxicatedfreedom and what most considerthe start of..."

“You’ve made it to the age

of intoxicated

freedom and what most consider

the start of adulthood.


Congratulations,

you’re still alive.


“Deceased at the age of 18”

you always thought the papers

would print this title off after the day

of your 18th birthday, but now

you’re 21 and there isn’t enough

ink in this world to help you feel

at ease with the fact that you

are still growing up, still fighting.


They ask you if you feel different,

older, more mature and experienced

with the ways of the world.

You shrug, say you don’t know

and take another shot.

You make your way to the bars

bathroom, and now here you

are, facing yourself and the years

that you pushed through

before you. You wonder if you

have changed. You touch

your skin and your face but

nothing seems to have changed

overnight as everyone

thinks it has. You are still

who you were when you turned

18, but the only thing that is

different is what everyone

can’t see; everything

that is inside of you.”

- "Self-reflection at 21," - Colleen Brown