What my nights

when I traded disco lights

for scented candles

when my nights once spent spitting whiskey in your mouth

turned into nights of cramming and more doses of caffeine

when the glitter in my eyes

became dark tired circles

when the hangover headaches

were academic stress

and when the highs

were achievements.

when bar stools

became hours hunched over textbooks

when games of pool

became acronym games.

what my nights used to look like:

too much perfume and giggles thst bubbled in my chest like champagne

what my nights look like now:

quiet and books and tiny handwriting spilling over pages.

when I gave up part of me

to create myself.