Everything I’ve Wanted To Be

Chloe P. 7th - Jersey City, NJ
What do you want to be when you grow up?
So many times, my answer to this redundant inquiry has been rearranged and shifted
For, I’ve always needed a goal to work towards
Something to keep me uplifted

Ballerina, I would’ve told you, when I was age five
I admired their beauty, how they’re so effortlessly graceful
I thought, if I’m not that pretty, surely I’m shameful
But quickly, ballet seemed so far from reach
I became too aware of my body
It made me suffocate
I couldn’t breathe

So, veterinarian, I decided, when I was age seven
Knowing that I could help someone, put my mind at ease
Because whatever it was, no one had tried curing my disease
But the blood, and the pain, was too much to handle
I needed an escape, something that wouldn’t put me in shambles

Nine year old me thought that she had made up her mind
Comedy, she figured, wouldn’t get her feelings all intertwined
But she was quick to realize, a voice like hers wouldn't be heard