As our society evolves, we try too hard to adapt to our surroundings and fit in. “Three Poems of Apology” by Hannah Cabral addresses this. In her poem, she apologizes to her dad, God, and her younger self. She tells her dad that she changed to try to adapt to her social life but didn’t realize how much it would affect him when she was no longer his “little girl.” She goes on to apologize for sinning and doing the things that the Commandments told her never to do, and finally, to her younger self, she apologizes for trying to be someone she’s not, changing just to try to fit in, neglecting to take care of herself and the people around her. Hannah accurately presents the struggles of teen life and tries to amend her wrongs by acknowledging them.

In the first stanza, Hannah writes, “I’m sorry I took down my pigtails and ripped off the streamers from my bike. I’m sorry I let the world tell me who to be. I’m sorry I’m no longer your little girl. I fear – I’m no longer me.” We rush to grow up, not treasuring the moments we have right now because we want to be seen as adults. As we grow, we regret the time we should have taken to live our youth to its fullest, with careless pigtails and knee scrapes from riding bikes. Hannah’s poem depicts this perfectly.