By Michaela Thomasova

Your thighs get this wonderful thing now,

It’s called cellulitis,

They also jiggle a lot more,

Your tummy does the same,

painting the picture for a new frame.

You know your metabolism?

Yeah, that one slows down quite a lot.

Turning your body into a prison.

The scale announcing kilos have risen.

You become more of a woman,

Perhaps it’s your body telling you it’s time.

But to have a child?

In this economy? And in London?

What a joke,

When you’re a student-type-of-broke.

Your taste changes too,

So that mushroom sauce you used to hate,

You kind of like it now,

You even like the mustard too.

People don’t tell you to eat up anymore

Which I admit is quite nice,

But now, let me give you the real advice.

You see,

your character changes too,

Your defined dreams when you were 13 years old,

Those aren’t forever you know.

You value your own time now,

You do the things you love,

You come back to them like a bee to a flower,

You are fierce and you have the power.

You are working hard,

Trying to prioritise,

Sometimes feeling left out,

But that’s okay in life,

So, don’t overthink too much.

You should enjoy the time you have,

Enjoy the silly worries of a teenage girl,

Because that changes just like your body does,

Just like your dreams do,

Just like you do yourself,

Adding more chapters to the shelf.

But worry not as this is not a bad change,

I just want you to enjoy what you have more,

Make the most of it,

Before you move out of your home,

Before in the world, you’ll start to roam.