Holding Onto Sixteen Poem by Riley Choma

Holding Onto Sixteen



From an early age I remember wanting to be 16, and how good teens looked on TV.

I dreamt of frilly dresses and parties full of people; I dreamt of my self all grown up.

I remember Mary Kate and Ashley thin with boys on both arms.

Teenage life; I thought that's what it would be...

By the age of 12 I remember realizing people were quite mean, so I held onto 16.

The girls all liked boys, and I still found them icky.

I felt like an alien and the other girls spoke it.

Desperate to be normal, I couldn't wait to be 16.

By the age of 13 the girls wore makeup, and wearing none became ugly.

I found I was too large to fill the dresses I had seen on tv, and girls spoke of calories.

I learned to hate my skin, makeup became security, and food a sin to me...

When I looked in the mirror I started to see ugly, and again I could wait to be 16.

By the age of 14 other girls were thin, and pretty, and I had learned to hate me.

My peers spent nights at parties, while I sat at home alone and uninvited.

Everyone had dates and I felt so lonely, but boys somehow were still so icky.

They called me a freak and I realized even I didn't understand me; I still held onto 16

By the age of 15 I knew for certain that I liked girls, and I felt like everyone hated me.

I came to terms with being different, but I still wanted to be that image of thin I had seen.

Boys called me fat and I felt so ugly; I really wanted to die.

Teenage life wasn't what I imagined, and I no longer knew if I would make it to 16.

I am now 16 and my whole life has changed, because they finally broke me.

I am obsessed with weight, and I hate eating.

They took my chances for joy and destroyed me.

I am now 16 and because of them I can't help but hate me...

Saturday, February 7, 2015
Topic(s) of this poem: age
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