There were colors.
Colors so vibrant they were practically glowing.
Toys.
Armies of plushies lined the walls and boxes stuffed with toy cars were ready to burst.
Toys were stacked up in so many places that even the Door was covered
I almost forgot about the Door
But one day, it revealed itself.
I begged to stay,
Begged like my life depended on it
But soon I realized I had no choice.
I stepped through the door into a new world.
A world with new people with shining faces and radiant smiles.
A world with ABC posters and crayons.
A world called school.
I cried the first day,
And the next,
And the one after that,
But soon I met some people
Friends.
Suddenly school was like my second home
I loved the countless new adventures
I was the explorer and this was the jungle
I navigated the jungle for what seemed like only a day,
Until I stood before another Door.
I had only just begun to get comfortable and I didn’t want to leave.
I was staying.
But again, that choice was not mine to make.
I tentatively put my foot through
And found myself in the middle of another new world
Middle school
This time, not everything was new
There were still smiling faces, but the environment felt different
ABC posters were replaced with Algebra posters
And crayons were replaced with pens.
Butterflies swarmed my stomach as my eyes took it all in.
In all honesty, it was scary.
Terrifying
For the first couple of years, I kept to myself and only spoke when I was spoken to.
I reminded myself of a koala
Always sitting quietly high up in the trees
Away from everyone else apart from a few other koalas.
I hated this shy, quiet version of me,
But I couldn’t help it.
It was too much change.
Finally, bit by bit, others encouraged me to start descending the tree I was hiding in.
Soon, I was on the lower branches of the tree
And others started seeing me.
It was a big change having people actually know I existed
But they were surprisingly receptive to me and in time, I had new friends.
I started opening up more
Like a flower opening up to the warm sunshine after the rain,
And when the Door came back
Ready to transport me yet again to the next chapter of my life,
I immediately walked through
Hesitating for only a heartbeat.
The Door always made me feel apprehension
So much so that I would want to go hide in my closet forever and cry
And it always will
But I will always walk through knowing that with all the changes
Will come indescribable joy and happiness
In the form of lifelong friendships and unforgettable memories.
Photo Door to Rome by Pono Lopez from Unsplash
The Roar 