A lot can change in a year. Just looking back from last summer to this summer, I myself have changed a ton. Whether that's for the worse or the better, I'm not sure, but at least I know I am on the journey of finding my true self.

The summer after college can feel like a weird one. You just left all the people you spent 10 straight months with, quickly not being able to imagine your life without them, and forgetting about how it was before you met them. But now you're away from them, or at least some of them if some others live close by, and it feels weird. Even though everyone says all of high school is in the past and everyone's matured by now, you know no one really has changed. Maybe someone dresses differently or thinks of them self in a different way, but for the most part all of the high school drama, traditions, and adventures come back together and get back to where they left off. Most college kids will begin to say they are bored during summer, but we have to stop with this.

In one of my favorite shows, Friday Night Lights, one of the characters, Tim Riggins, always says "Texas Forever." In my eyes, there's something special about this and I relate this to high school with my own new saying "High school forever." It's amazing to see your friends and realize you really did miss them, catch up with them, and go to the same ritual spots as before with a comfort knowing things haven't changed so drastically as you thought. It's also great to see all of the incredible things your friends are doing whether with an internship, job, or cool summer vacation, and how happy they all are at their new schools, even if they aren't with you.

Even though most say college is the best four years of your life, I'll always hold a special place in my heart for high school, and I hope you will too. Regain those friendships you think you lost with home friends while in college, forget about your mistakes and those of the people around you, and make this summer the best one yet. Your college friends will be right where you left them in the fall, so just enjoy the little months you have with the friends you were so scared to leave before this all started. I know it may be annoying to be back in the parents' control again with all of the curfews and asking for permissions and stuff like that, but life's too short to not just try to live positively and forget about all of the little unnecessary details. Let go of the grudges and fear, and just take a leap into nostalgia and taking risks this summer with the people you used to make lifelong memories with, even if it's just sharing a laugh for a brief moment. Stop talking about missing college and trying to fight over who's college is the most fun and who has the most friends, and just breathe and let loose with your hometown friends while just being happy for each and every one of them on their own path towards happiness and success.