Dedicated to the Young 20s

Nothing is ever enough.

Fast or slow the nerves keep digging
Up and down the hills start biting.
Surprised I don't have white hair growing
With all the thinking I should be aging.

What happened to that faraway future,
Brightly shining as a beacon of hope?
It arrived and then the past looked better,
And in our beds we start to mope.

At first we thought of ourselves as smart,
Heck! Maybe even smarter than everyone else!
Now back at the bottom trying to start,
It seems again we've lost our stealth.

Who knew there could be too many roads,
If only previews were provided as well,
Who knew we needed our choices narrowed
Perhaps then we'd have a chance to win the Nobel.

Now dating, that's a funny conception,
Find me a human and I might give a damn,
Right now I only see animals in action,
Anything else and it might be a scam.

Some say dogs or diamonds are one's best friends,
I say Ramen and the pizza man,
Or is it the cookies? I guess it depends,
Either way our stomachs have started to span.

Remember when mommy said, "make your bed?"
You wondered why since it'll get messed up again,
Now you're away and something smells like its dead,
Must be those crumbs or those mysterious stains.

Though your few crappy jobs are at minimum wage,
Somehow you scrape up enough credit to waste
To meet a celebrity all the way backstage,
Now is the time parents are even more embraced.

They call you a Freshman when you're really much older
Your insides start boiling, you're not treated fairly,
Compared to High school, you say you're much smarter,
Maybe that's true when you're not high or tipsy.

And you wonder why insurance is so high,
When they find bottles of booze by your thigh,
It's not mine! I swear! You cry,
While texting and applying mascara to eyes.

This is the time for personality to shine!
What better than a tattoo to show what's inside.
Even better, my right hand will do just fine,
Let future interviewers experience my pride.

Then there are days when the mirror looks wrong,
You can't be that ugly! You just can't be!
When did those bags come along?
Pimples and acne, why do I look so chubby?

You're obsessed with the bestseller Facebook,
You follow tweety-bird on Twitter,
Now there's tumblr to attempt your own book,
And your sweetheart sent you virtual flowers.

All in all the 20s are wicked and twisted,
There's not enough psychologists to go around,
Anxious, stubborn, we all think we're jaded
When we find ourselves pushed into the background.

*Read more of my stuff at http://365poetrychallenge.wordpress.com/