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Clawing through papers and packets and pamphlets,

drowning in fears, still in search of her talents

clinging to dreams of higher education,

searching for emotional liberation.

Stresses surpass her wildest imagination,

as she longs for the world's validation

Her youthful glow grows dim,

her inner world is shattered and grim.

Ego death is all she knows,

a year spent behind thick clouds of smoke

pressure from peers until she's on the edge,

then a nosedive beyond the ledge.

If she had known seventeen candles were enough,

if she had known eighteen would be this rough,

she'd think twice before growing up

and appreciate what once was.