Unexpected, Weird, and Delightful

A poem about how life can take unexpected paths and turn into something beautifully new and strange.

Unexpected, Weird, and Delightful

By Dominik Drite

I am a young adult -

An “adult-in-training” -

And I still feel fourteen,

But that was nine years ago

(Almost a decade!),

And life is a whirlwind.

I’ve got my own things;

My own insurance,

My own taxes,

My own rent and bills,

And don’t ask about money,

But I don’t feel adult-y.

When I was sixteen,

I had it all figured out:

Four years of university,

Forty years of a cushy career,

And a stable, high income.

If only I knew.

I was eighteen,

Graduating in three months,

Waiting for an internship,

Finishing my second year of trade school,

When everything came crashing down

And bye-bye senior year.

Thanks a lot, COVID!

I had a drive-thru graduation,

Lost the internship due to the lockdown,

Barely finished trade school,

And spent the first year of university

In my parents’ basement.

Five years later,

Things aren’t so bad.

They’re not what I imagined

Seven years ago, at sixteen,

But they’re not bad,

Even when it’s really tough.

I moved out,

I don’t have the career I wanted,

My income is FAR from stable,

But I’m the happiest I’ve ever been,

And this isn’t the end of it.

My story is still being written.

Last year, I got a tattoo.

It was my first ever tattoo

And I was so excited.

I saw the design in a flash book

And the artist was so sweet.

You’ll never guess what it is.

It’s a raccoon dancing with bat wings.

I love raccoons, and I love bats - simple!

I don’t regret it one bit.

It’s unexpected, weird, and delightful,

And as an adult-in-training,

My life is unexpected, weird, and delightful.

I’m moving at my own pace,

Finding balance,

Finding rhythm,

And finding strength

In the people and the places

That I have, unexpectedly, found.

I’m healing from things

That used to be unspoken,

And finding peace

In a chaotic world.

Weirdly enough, 

I’m doing it.

I hope that one day,

I can look up at a person,

Or a place,

Or a thing,

And realize with delight

That I did it.