What is Sixteen?

Sixteen is waking up one day, feeling like it is your chance to shine. You put on your make up and curl your hair, smiling at everything you come across. You are invincible, and nothing is going to break your spirits.

Sixteen is crying in the back of the room, realizing that it is just another day. The rain has washed away your mask, and your curls are falling limply around your face. You force a smile, cut the cake, and listen to age-old childhood memories from your family and friends.

Sixteen is cleaning up the destruction left in the wake of everything that has gone wrong. You brush off the pink taffeta of your dress, hold your head up high, and walk around acting like everything is just fine.

Sixteen is trying not to break down. Sixteen is crying into your pillow, even though you thought you were over that whenever you were thirteen. Sixteen is reliving awkward periods of time. Sixteen is being so afraid of everything going on that you're not quite sure where you are in life.

Sixteen is your first boyfriend, your first kiss, your first time that you really realize that you are alive. Sixteen is getting your heart crushed the next month and trying to move on. Sixteen is holding a grudge that eventually fades over time. Sixteen is the constant battle with people who may or may not be your friends.

Sixteen is the time when nothing makes sense. No matter how hard you try to figure out up from down, the world keeps spinning and you keep losing your grip on reality. Sixteen is out of body experiences. Sixteen is being stuck on the spinning teacups at the amusement park. Sixteen is knocking down all of the obstacles, only to turn around and right every wrong.

Sixteen is the year where you realize you are almost Seventeen, and then after Seventeen you will be Eighteen. You realize that time has sped by, and you would like a moment to just sit in neutral and watch your life unfold. This is Sixteen.