Be a child. Have dreams. Ensure those dreams are undefined, transitory – always out of reach. Reach out a doughy, puppy-fat hand to touch them anyway.

Continue to be a child, even when your body misbehaves by aging. Remember to attend university, even when you have no idea why.

Realize that your dreams are bigger than you thought, that the world is bigger than you thought. Most importantly, be aware of how small you are.

Ignore the lines around your eyes. You are not older, just wiser. Be wiser. Decide to leave everything behind.

Find yourself in a place you never imagined. Wish for the place that you left. Accept that you can’t go back.

Conclude that you could be anywhere in the world, and your puppy-fat hand will always reach out for something else.

S. M. Colwill

Sarah Colwill-Brown is a British expat studying for an MA in English at Boston College. Her poetry has featured in Poetry & Audience (UK), and last year I won the Seaton Scholarship for graduate creative writing at Kansas State University.

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