2010, in a town where train tracks are intertwined with everything you hold dear
You’ve started your journey
Guided by a warm hand, unaware that this is just the beginning
Climbing aboard towards a destination that has not yet been decided
Before counting becomes calculus and toy cars become Toyotas
A brief moment where friends and time are abundant
You’re moving along
Becoming accustomed to the rattling hum of the wheels beneath you
Old desks with attached chairs, consistently cluttered like your hyperactive imagination
Snacks traded and games played under seemingly endless blue skies
Idly drifting through days, restricted only by the sounding bell
You’re embarking on a new experience
Older and louder, but certainly not wiser
Slowly untangling what it means to be you- a knot that still isn’t quite undone
Trudging through drama-filled years and overcrowded halls
Tensions are high as the aisles become insurmountable obstacles
A universally humbling experience
You’re starting new again
Finally freed from the turbulence of the middle,
You’ve reached a point where destiny is in your hands
Making choices that dictate what’s to come,
The destination is becoming clearer
You’re almost there
Hours spent on applications, writing and rewriting
The engine’s once rapid pace slows to a meandering chug,
As the passengers prepare for the division of a formerly cohesive group
How quickly thirteen years come to a close
You’re fast approaching the unknown
Reminiscing on the kilometres already behind you,
using all you’ve learned to form the future
A final walk across the stage, then out the door on the last day
Terrified, determined,
But always moving forward
You’re exiting the station
Blinking in the sunlight, stepping onto solid ground after so long in motion
Surrounded by people who all seem to know where they’re going
Around the globe, chasing a degree, or off to work
There are endless paths in front of you,
The steps are yours to take.