In the Dark

As a kid you aren’t expected to do much

“Do this, and this, that’s just how life works.”

No one ever tells you anything important,

“You’re too young,”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

Most people look down on you,

Expecting you to be stupid.

“You haven’t grown yet,”

“Just wait til you’re older.”

Then when you turn 18,

You have the weight of the world on your shoulders.

You’re expected to know everything,

To know what you have to do with your life.

“You’re too old to not know this.”

“Why haven’t you learned this before?”

You were in the dark for most of your life,

No one ever taught you how to pay your taxes,

Or how to buy your own house.

It takes time and learning, but when you try to explain

They take it the wrong way,

And don’t even listen.

“That’s not my problem, that’s your own.”

So no matter what you do,

You’ll always be in the dark

Unsure of what you have to do,

And what you need to learn.

That’s just how life works,

And you can’t change it.

“You’ll understand when you’re older.”

This poem was partially based on real life. When you’re a kid, no one really teaches you about life, so you don’t know what to do. Sometimes the adults always use the excuse “you’re too young to understand,” or “wait until you’re older.” So for your whole childhood you feel in the dark, no one ever tells you anything. Then when you become an adult, everyone expects you to know everything, even though you were never taught, or exposed to the real world. A lot of kids feel this way, while others don’t. Sometimes their parents never taught them so they just have to learn and figure it out on their own.