‘It was as if yesterday’: Poem by Jasmilan Kaur, AIMETC, Jalandhar

It feels like yesterday when my parents became excited to hear me utter my first word;
It feels like yesterday when I took my initial steps;
It feels like yesterday when I experienced my first knee injury;
It feels like yesterday when I entered kindergarten, crying my eyes out; longing to return home
It feels like yesterday when I tackled my first exam;
It feels like yesterday when I danced for the first time at an annual function;
It feels like yesterday when I participated in my first Olympiad
It feels like yesterday when I stumbled on the stairs at school for the first time;
It feels like yesterday when I engaged in my first elocution and clinched the “Best Speaker Award”
It feels like yesterday when I first sensed the pressure of taking board examinations;
It feels like yesterday when I had to make the pivotal decision of choosing a stream, marking the initial step toward my dream life;
It feels like yesterday when I organized my first event in high school;
It feels like yesterday when I first encountered the term “Quarantine”;
It feels like yesterday when I completed my 12th grade from the confines of my home;
It feels like yesterday when I set foot in college for the first time;
It feels like yesterday when I completed my first year, passing the end semester exams;
It was… It was…
It feels like yesterday when I had just begun my college journey, yet it has already come to an end…