"You're so Mature for your age"

“You’re so mature for your age”.

The sentence that I’ve heard from being 13 years old, the sentence that isn’t so much a compliment anymore. More of a realization of how much pressure was put on a little girl, the pressure to deal with the world on her shoulders.

What would I be like without maturity?

What would I be like if I got the affection I needed?

What would I be like If I just was a little girl.

There was a moment when the world stopped and my inner child just needed comfort and to be vulnerable, but reality snapped and I was this emotionless adult, coping.

If only I could hit pause or go back and do it all over again.

Was this independence forced on me? Or was It my brain helping me cope?

I’m now an ‘Adult’ trying to heal my inner child.