A Letter to My Freshman-Year Self

Dear me:

You won't understand that the gravitational weight of stepping

Into your first year of high school

Is the same as stepping on the moon;

There will be several people who tell you that

You do not belong here

Even though your flag of freedom waves

Despite the lack of oxygen in the class room —

School can be as lonely as empty space,

And the bravery it will take to launch yourself

Back into an alien world every day

Cannot be matched in value.

You will have to learn how to breath without air,

How to survive in a place that seems

A million miles away from home.

But you will not be alone:

Don't let the blackness overwhelm

The good moments bathed in

Golden rays of a too-close sun.

Stepping into your homeroom on the first day of high school

Might seem only one small step to right now,

But it'll be remembered as one giant leap

Into maturity. Embrace the time you have

In this strange new world while you can.

Best of luck to you,

Mission Control