
I didn’t know when it started just that things felt heavier like everyone else knew something and I missed the meeting The days feel long but the summers don’t everyone keeps changing and pretending they don’t I watch my shadow stretch past where it used to stop I’m taller than I remember and I don’t know when that happened They say this is normal like that’s supposed to help but no one tells you what you’re allowed to feel It’s okay to cry now if you don’t know why if the feeling stays longer than the reason it arrived It’s okay to cry now if things don’t make sense growing up isn’t louder it’s just… different I hear adults talk in pieces half-truths through thin walls like they’re afraid of finishing what they start Some things feel important but no one explains them so I carry the weight without knowing its name I don’t feel like a kid but I don’t feel ready I feel like a door left halfway open It’s okay to cry now I think that’s allowed some things don’t break you they just stay I don’t know who I’m becoming I just know I’m not the same and maybe that’s enough