I’ve moved seven times

Changed schools four times

Every time I leave 

I fear I lose a part of me

All those places I once called home

Now belong to someone else

They’ll never know me

Apartment after apartment

I forgot what it felt like to be comfortable

In the next two years

I’ll move at least once again

I knew this the moment we walked through the door

I painted the walls

But kept all my clothes in their boxes

I’m hesitant to call this new place home

For now I’ve only called it “where I live”

My dad’s girlfriend could decorate the place

Until she spent every penny in the bank 

That wouldn’t make it home 

I’ve never felt at home

Between all ten states I’ve been to

I thought I’d find some place my heart belonged

No matter where I go

Or how hard I try

Every place feels a bit a empty

After all the messes I’ve been through

I was afraid to get a fresh start

I didn’t know how being refreshed would feel

Worst of all I didn’t want to be disappointed 

Yet I gave that new opportunity a chance

Everyone had been telling me

Coming to TMC  was the best choice they had ever made

I was worried that wouldn’t apply to me

Now I’m wishing I had listened to my counselor a year sooner 

I knew my friends could always be considered family

I just didn’t know they could feel like home too

I’ve been searching for a safe space

For what feels like one hundred years

Sitting on swings in the middle of a storm

Will forever feel better than a cold empty bed

Somehow when we’re together it feels like the rest of the world disappears

The laughter is infectious and all worries melt away

We stay out long after the sun goes down

All the things that used to seem so little now mean the world to me

Getting out of bed isn’t so hard anymore

These people who didn’t know me

So quickly welcomed me

Relationships often scare me

Sometimes I find it best to run away

Not here

If it was possible to hold on to a moment forever

I think the best thing for me to choose would be our most ridiculous night

High school is coming to a close

I felt like I had been wasting these years

But these past seven months have now been filled with the best memories

I finally have found what I’ve so desperately wanted

(dedicated to my best friends: Mary, Genesis, Syeda, Win, Brandon, Joy, and Maia <3)