somewhere i'm still a little girl

once, there was a little girl who thought she had all the time in the world.

she played outside until the streetlights came on. she believed in magic, collected little treasures, laughed too loudly, and thought growing up would be the best thing that could ever happen to her.

she didn't know that one day, the toys would be packed away.

that cartoons would become embarrassing.

that friendships would quietly disappear.

that the family car would smell different when she was older.

that her childhood bedroom would someday belong to someone else.

that there would be a last summer, a last Christmas, a last ordinary afternoon—and she wouldn't know it was the last.

Somewhere, I Am Still a Little Girl is a collection of poems about childhood, growing up, and the ache of realizing you were living through moments you would someday miss.

it is about the little girl you used to be, the girl you thought you would become, and the pieces of her you carried with you without even realizing it.

for anyone who has ever wanted to go back—not forever, not even for long—just for one afternoon.

to sit on the old bedroom floor.

to eat your favorite candy.

to swing a little higher.

to hear your family's laughter again.

to be little, just once more.

because maybe growing up doesn't mean leaving that little girl behind.

maybe somewhere inside you,

she is still playing outside.