Dear College Survivor (So Far)
Elizabeth Baseley
Elizabeth Baseley
You are the beach that I,
The waves,
Refuse to stop bothering.
I mean hey,
I only lived with you for, oh
13 years,
So a text every now and then wouldn’t kill you would it?
Hey, just wanted to let you know that
No matter how many times you open a drawer into my head, I won’t stop
looking up to you
Becomes a lot harder once you are almost the same height,
But that's okay because you can no longer look down on me.
I remember when I so small that you,
Taller and older,
Didn’t want to play with me.
So I had to play monopoly by myself,
And I still might have lost sometimes,
But
I remember those times you let me play.
I remember
Mario Kart with Kris next door, I always passed my chance to drive,
because I couldn’t handle the stress.
I would instead perch on his couch and lean in the direction of the car you were driving,
Now I don’t need to
The car makes itself lean when you turn right to sharply.
I remember calling out,
Watch for that red shell!
Bullet bill to your left,
Swerve or you’ll hit that goomba.
Now is,
USE YOUR GODDAMN TURN SIGNAL IT'S THERE FOR A REASON.
I remember when you had just read the Hunger Games
Fifth grade,
And had come up with the brilliant idea to do our own.
I hid behind you the entire time.
You made me run out and gather as many “fish” from the “pond” in our front yard for food.
I would gather about 10 rocks and run back, heart pounding in fear.
I remember when you got mad at me and decided to chuck a toy of mine,
It hit our coffee table and his head popped clean off.
I fell to floor and threw a tantrum,
Sobbing over the lost life of Troy the pug (who I named after my other neighbor).
(I’m still upset about that, and its been 7 years.)
I remember getting a new one
After searching for months,
But keeping the head of the old like the psychopath I was,
I remember building a hotel for our Webkinz.
Out of shoe boxes and I remember who was forced to clean it up.
I remember watching Fetch with Ruff-Ruff man and you spoiling it for me.
I remember a day when you went to school.
You were in first or second grade and mom,
At that point,
Had stopped walking you to the bus stop.
I remember waking up at a time that I was not supposed to be up at.
6:45 am.
I remember peering over the railing at you on the first floor.
I remember you grabbing your backpack and walking out.
I thought that you were grown up and the
Coolest
Person
Ever.
And sister,
As much as I can remember,
I can’t place the time or date when you actually grew up.
Maybe it was when you stopped pretending that planters are water,
Or when you started to learn from other’s failures.
(That was a hint for you to start learning from others failures)
No matter when you did grow up, now the world legally recognizes it.
And that is terrifying to me.
But no matter what troubles befall you on your journey,
No matter how many Goombas stand in my way,
Like the beach, I will always be here for you to come back to.
Visit Elizabeth's page here.