I know you can’t wait to grow up,  

To finally be just like the “cool kids,”  

To trade pigtails for curls and bikes for cars.  

You can’t wait to fall in love,  

To stop running away from boys and start kissing them.  

But your calculations are sorely mistaken,  

As once you outgrew your princess backpack  

You start carrying the weight of the world.  

Once you stop riding the bus to school, 

You have to figure out where you’re going.  

The second you stop wearing your plastic crown  

You’ll begin to scrutinize your face.  

Once you stop proudly singing off key  

You’ll learn what it feels like to be ignored.  

Once you stop playing on the playground,  

You’ll learn that friends aren’t always forever.  

Once you stop dreaming of being a mermaid,  

People will tell you what you can’t do.  

So keep the mud pies and swingsets for a little longer,  

Someday you’ll wish you were still scared of boys.