Cherish your youth

Six years old and they told me
Enjoy your youth
But I didn’t care what adults told me 
I played with dolls and went down sticky slides

Ten years old and they told me 
Enjoy your youth
I rolled my eyes 
And stole my mom's makeup when she wasn’t looking 

Fourteen years old and they told me 
Enjoy your youth
I ignored them 
And texted my friends about boys and makeup 

Eighteen years old and they told me 
Enjoy your youth 
I told myself I was enjoying my youth
Partying every weekend and turning in assignments seconds before the deadline 

Twenty-two years old and they told me 
Enjoy your youth it won’t last much longer 
I laughed and said I was still so young 
And yet I’m stuck in an office with no natural light and crappy coffee 

Twenty-six years old and they told me 
Enjoy your youth, and don’t waste these precious years 
I sighed 
Ringing up baby diapers that I could barely afford 

Thirty-two years old and they told me
You wasted your youth
And now I realize I did 
I find myself wishing I was young again 
Because time passed in the blink of an eye