I was thinking the other day about life, and how short it is. I’m literally going to be turning 23 at the end of next month, and I know it may not sound that old at all to most of you, but to me, life is flying by. I remember back in the day when turning 16 was the most exciting thing ever. Getting my license after the second attempt at my road test, experiencing my “first love”, and all of the other exciting things life flew my way at that age. I felt on top of the world, and truly in my heart I felt that I was “grown up”. That was almost 7 years ago. I still can’t believe it. A lot has happened since then, good and bad. Some of the hardest years of my life were to follow after I turned 16, but without it I wouldn’t be who I am today.

The reason I am writing this is because back then I wouldn’t have pictured being where I am at in life at age 23. Not in a bad way, but I am just processing the fact that life goes extremely fast, and it goes in such a way that cannot be planned or controlled. There is only so much you can “control” in this life of yours. You can have a plan, but most likely that “plan” doesn’t work out the way you expect it to. It works out for the best in a different way than imagined, and most likely, for the better. In the moment, we are always looking towards the future, and we can’t imagine what life would be like in another 7 years from now. In this present time, we feel mature and responsible; in another 7 years from now would we look back and think the same thing?

As each year goes by, we continue getting older, embracing new challenges and growing in new ways. We are much more responsible now than we were at the age 16 of course, but we still have a lot of growing to go through as the years come our way. Each year is preparing us for something ahead, making us a stronger person. We need to focus on this moment in time, not looking back in the past at memories holding regrets. Every year goes a little bit faster than the year prior. We can't let precious moments slip by, we need to embrace them head on. Life goes by so fast. This is the youngest we will ever be, and we need to start making the most of it. Live life, live expectation-free, and embrace all that is in store. We need to quit getting upset when things don't go our way or as planned. We need to quit taking life so seriously, and just learn to let go, and have some fun. Not everything that gets thrown our way is THAT serious anyway. It's what you make it. What are YOU going to do with your time, are you going to make the most of it? Where will you be in 7 years? I can guarantee it won't look the way you are expecting, but it will be WELL worth it.