Took me a while

At times in life, from strangers from the past,

I hear " You have changed"

To anyone that knows anything about growing up

this is a compliment,

When you grow up,

 you change,

you evolve,

you survive some storms,

you walk some lonely paths,

you fall but you get up right away,

you make mistakes but you learn from them,

you make wrong decisions but you own them and fix them,

you look for the best in an opportunity,

you keep going...

but you change, you become better at

whatever it is that you've wanted to grow up into

Sometimes I think of kids who didn't have 

a good role model,

whose parents never grew up or cared.

What a sad world they must have.

But happiness is a choice,

so despite all the obstacles and hardships,

if you choose not to be happy that's your own fault.

To some people I wish I could say

Good Bye and I never want to see you again,

But I don't possess that kind of strength 

so I pray to God to take those that don't mean well away,

and just like His power, the Almighty that He is,

He takes those away that don't wish me a happiness bliss.

After each one leaves, I gracefully say,

"Thank you God for taking them away"

For each person that has left my life,

three more blessings came that enriched my life. 

Life takes you places to see the beauty of the world,

the beauty of the people, 

 We live through the snow, the rain, the warmest summers,

and yet we find a way to shine, to blossom,

We find a way to change.

For better,

for grown,

so tomorrow we can raise those that 

will make this world a better place,

Took me a while

but I can finally say,

I have changed,

I am grown and I will keep it that way.