My grandmother wrote this poem when I was twelve. I just found it while sorting through some old papers and wanted to share it with you. It’s strangely appropriate to the moment. 🙂
When you were a child, life was so easy.
Your duties were few, you could play all day;
At night mother would bathe you, blow dry your hair
And read you a wonderful fairy tale.
Your dreamed of being a hero of those stories:
Flying the magic carpet to exotic land,
Outsmarting the bad giant, finding the Golden Fleece,
Killing a vicious dragon to win the princess’ hand.
You believed all this could very well happen
When you will become a little bit older
When you will finally turn twelve or thirteen
The adventures will wait just around the corner.
Now you are twelve and it’s high school and homework.
You are missing the freedom that you once had,
Your body has changed, you’re rapidly growing
And sometimes you’re happy and sometimes you’re sad.
You’re wondering: “Why those hours of study?
What will French or math ever do for me?”
You would rather watch t.v., read comics,
Go skiing, play computer games or D&D.
Well, the world of working people is demanding.
You need the skills to succeed in any given field.
The knowledge you have gained will one day come handy,
It will be in the future your weapon, your shield.
When school is over you’ll start your life as an adult.
The years are passing swiftly and you will soon be there
To make your own decisions, commitments and choices
It will be more exciting than any fairy tale!