Born to Become
by Claire Schroder, Woodleigh School
Years 7 – 8 Written Poetry Finalist
A hidden spark of promise was implanted when she was born,
A secret seed of potential to welcome her first dawn.
The room was filled with magic as her journey just begun,
A special life unfolding beneath a golden sun.
Her early childhood years were full of happiness and fun,
With endless days of laughter and with prizes to be won.
She built a strong life that was beautifully secure,
With memories she would remember, innocent and pure.
But then the world was shaken by a sudden disease,
An unexpected time that caused much unease.
The classrooms closed their doors and left the playground bare,
As quietness and worry seemed to settle everywhere.
The isolation was a weight throughout Year One and Two,
A lonely time of quiet days with nothing more to lose.
She missed the sound of laughter and the smile of her friends,
Stuck living in a weirder world, wondering when will this end.
Yet still she found the power in her heart to carry on,
And bravely kept on growing till the heaviest days were gone.
She learned to find some comfort in the quiet of her room,
And kept her inner spirit safe until the time to bloom.
In Year Three the path was heavy, a difficult uphill.
A challenging and bumpy road that took some patience still.
Year 4 was a time with quite a few ups and downs
Living most days with not a smile, but a frown.
She wanted to shine but this wasn’t where she belonged.
It was time to make a change and sing her own song.
To allow her heart to be free and grow at her own pace,
she knew deep down a new school would be the right place.
It took a bit of courage just to walk right through the door,
And leave behind the comforts of the things she knew before.
But happily, by the end of Year Five her choices felt so right,
She truly found her comfort zone and learned how to shine bright.
She made some wonderful new friends who stood right by her side,
And walked the busy hallways with a sense of joy and pride.
Year Six arrived like a grand finale, so bright and so bold,
With wonderful opportunities and experiences to unfold.
She took on every challenge with a bright and open mind,
And left a trail of kindness and success for all to find.
Now stepping into Year Seven, she is confident and strong,
Her future branches stretching wide to where she will belong.
The high school halls are bigger now, the subjects brand new too,
But there is nothing in this world that she can’t choose to do.
That inner seed has flourished with so many ways to go,
And endless skies are waiting for the ways that she will grow.
She looks ahead with open eyes, the past has made her wise,
And now she stands prepared to watch her brightest future rise.
The journey that she travelled built the person she became,
A girl who faces every storm and steps into every game.
Determined in her daily life to always do her best,
And always have the courage to persist through every test.
The tiny seed is growing strong, its roots are deep and true,
And there is no limit to the things that she will journey through.
The world is wide and waiting for the choices she will make,
And every single path in life is hers alone to take.
With strength inside her spirit and a vision clear and bright,
She steps into her future now, a truly brilliant light.