when i was a child. — Summary

GigiSad

when i was a child, days were longer, friendships were stronger, parents were giants, siblings were friends and enemies, school was exciting, teachers taught riming, boys had cooties, teens were moody, i laughed at immature things, and played many games, i thought naps were evil, and imagination was better than anything in the universe, the world was a playground, lying was my own version of story telling, I hated reading, and no one understood me. but now, i am now longer a child, days are so short it seems unbearable, friendships are lies, parents seem to be no longer giants but trolls, siblings are the only friends, school is full of pointless things, teachers no longer teach riming, boys no longer have cooties, i am the moody teen, i still laugh at immature things, i rarely play games, i can't get enough naps, i rarely use imagination any longer, i still lie, reading is now no longer a chore but an escape, and still, even now, no one understands me.

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Gigi's poem sets two versions of the speaker side by side: the child she was and the teenager she is now. The second half answers the first almost line for line. Days that were long are now too short. Parents who were giants have become trolls. Boys lose their cooties, and the speaker turns into the moody teen she once noticed in others. Even reading flips, from a hated chore into an escape.

The tone is light and a little jokey, with details like naps and cooties, but sadness runs underneath. Friendships are now "lies," imagination is rarely used, and games have mostly dropped away. The speaker seems to miss the playfulness she has lost.

The ending is the most telling part. A few things stay the same, like laughing at silly jokes and lying, but the clearest constant is the last line: "no one understands me." Her loneliness hasn't changed. It has only grown up with her, which leaves the poem funny, wistful, and quietly lonely.

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