What do you want to be when you grow up
Seven years old and not afraid of anything
Self perceived bastion of logic, scoffs,
“For you to be a queen, I first would have to be king”
Ah dad, but you see, even seven year old me
Knew that thrones could be taken
What do you want to be when you grow up
Fourteen years old with a song in my heart
Hesitating but passionate
All while following the narrative they’ve chosen for me
Fourteen year old me forgetting the power in her voice
What do you want to be when you grow up
Seventeen years old and ready to heal the world
Near a decade of schooling
But for title and pride foremost
Denying a different part of myself
To rub their noses in my defiance
Seventeen year old me certain that she was her full self
Ignoring the neglect fragments
What do you want to be when you grow up
Nineteen years old and focused on the present
Eight more years of school
Trying to live in the moment, but haunted
By the previously ignored horrors of the past
Nineteen year old me chasing just enough success
To still feel worth loving
What do you want to be when you grow up
Twenty two years old and thriving career
Than my years have earned
Struggling to know if I’ve made the right choices
Twenty two year old me finally starting to understand
That maybe happiness follows purpose
So why have I been choosing
Only one purpose at a time
What do you want to be when you grow up
And not afraid of anything
What do you want to be when you grow up