Snippets Of A Soul

Homeschooled

Sheltered child
Flower child
Hermit child
Dreamer child
Protected from the world
And all its dangers
Its influences
Its vulgarity
Its wonder

A brown collar shirt
With all the buttons done up
A long white skirt
That covers her ankles
Shoes that don't go with anything
But are comfy and safe
Mismatching socks of
Bright, cheerful colors
An old backpack
From a summer camp long past
And romantic thoughts flooding her hyperactive imagination

She thought not
Of heartbreak or half truths
Of pop music or prejudice
Of cussing or cold shoulders
Of ignorance or close-mindedness
Of petty fights or pep rallies
Of jealousy or jaded teachers
Of stress or stereotypes
Of peer pressure or popularity
She thought not of the real world
Outside of her warm, loving home
And all the hard, chilling truths
That come with it

No, such things never crossed her mind
As she walked up the crowded front steps
On her first day of public school
With a beaming smile on her face
Ready to embrace the universe
And all the people in it

Rather, she thought
Of cliques and crushes
Of boys and ballroom dancing
Of gossip and glitter
Of adventure and art
Of laughter and life lessons
Of studying and storybook endings
Of dresses and dreams that come true
Of Friday night sleepovers
And most of all, friendship
For that was what she craved most of all

And she would find it
Eventually