"On Turning Eighteen"

In our Coming of Age Literature course, we wrote poems that were modeled after Billy Collins's poem "On Turning Ten." Ours were called "On Turning Eighteen," and they mimicked the structure of Collins's poem, while focusing on important coming-of-age moments that we find when we're on the brink of the adulthood suggested by the BIG birthday of eighteen.

Here's Emily Metivier's poem:

The whole idea of it makes me feel excited but sad,

A crazy feeling that isn’t pleasing,

Worse than an anxiety attack,

like going to Disney Land with the flu,

or going to the beach with no bathing suit.

You tell me to be independent and mature,

but I still need to go to my mom for help,

I remember my childhood,

going outside and playing games,

crying over a broken plate,

watching Spongebob,

in middle school a pre-teen,

in high school a young woman.

But now it is time to be an adult,

join all of my adult idols and figures.

As a child the little things were a big deal,

now going to the mall and buying shoes,

crying over a broken heart,

watching R- rated movies.

In college a young adult,

yet in the working world a fully grown woman.

This is the beginning of adulthood,

a clean slate,

unaware of what's to come next,

It’s time to say goodbye to high school gossip,

time to be an independent college student.

It only seems yesterday it was my first day of kindergarten,

there was only the fear of getting tagged during recess,

I could run around for hours,

but now i want to go to bed at 8pm,

I am tired,

exausted.