Loud,                                   annoying

proud,                                  snobby

in charge                             bossy.

 

Others tell me who I am perceived to be- but not how I really am.

 

Halls of students, in arrested development, the minds of children.

We should have outgrown these harsh words and whispered not-quite truths years ago.

 

Mature,                               dull

politically correct,                 stuck up

outgoing.                              in your face

 

 

For an 18 year old girl to be confident?

               Unheard of.

               Ridiculous.

                A joke.

 

To want intelligent conversation instead of drunken flirtation? At my age?

               Pretentious. 

               Nose in the air.

               Loser.

 

Energetic,                            exhausting

bubbly,                                vapid

smart                                  show-off.

 

For an 18 year old to want more than her age allows her...

               Inconceivable.

               Impossible.

               Never. 

 

Hold her back, keep her down, for she 

is not allowed to reach beyond. She must pay her dues,

bide her time,

earn her stripes.

 

Then.

And only then.

Can she be free of others' voices

minds and 

whispers.

 

Once she has completed the years of torment, 

depression,

and 

pettiness.

 

Then she has earned the right to be herself,

                              the freedom to pull back the curtain.