I used to be so focused on where I was going, what my future had in store from me. I'd look back to my past, see what I had been through, grimace, and try to propel myself forward. I was so focused on both of these times in my life that I really slipped away from acknowledging where I'm at now.

Pretty much all of my life has been focused on achieving a certain goal. Graduating high school, getting into college, applying for internships, striving for a bachelor's degree, and landing a "big girl job." I'd buy planners and create bullet lists of everything I'd need to accomplish and when. I'd start my day on Monday yearning for Friday. I was always looking ahead.

I saw my past as something to be ashamed of. Depression, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, anxiety—these were all things that had brought me down and held me back. I'd wear long sleeves to hide the scars and put on a completely different front in public versus in private. I'd post photos on Instagram to try to maintain an image that was just a facade. I catch myself looking back and wanting nothing to do with the girl that I used to be.

Both my past and my future have had such a dominant place in my mind for so long. While they make up who I've been and who I strive to be, they neglect who I am. The present. The "in-between."

The "in-between" in life is a beautiful thing. It's where growth takes place. It's where you become who you are. The start and finish of the race are important, but it's the running in-between that makes it the experience.

I used to dread facing each day. It was hard to get out of bed in the morning and accept who I was, the life I was living. I may not be the happiest still because my depression is a continual battle, but it's different now. I appreciate, at least somewhat, what each day has to offer. I'm focused more on the "now" than the "later."

The "in-betweens" are the moments you're experiencing now that you'll look back on years from now, wishing you had appreciated them. They're everything that makes your life the unique one you're living.

They're the lazy days in bed with your partner on a rainy Sunday afternoon. They're you putting in hours at the library with your friends well past midnight, studying for the test you have the next morning. They're you gradually learning to love yourself after a lifetime of self-hatred. They're you learning to not just yearn for the weekend at the beginning of each week.

Each milestone in life is important. The average days that occur between these milestones, though, often get forgotten. When I look back on how far I've come, I see all of those days that I gradually got better, happier. I see the days where I wanted to self-harm but restrained, allowing me to slowly progress to where I am now: one year clean.

I'm still dreaming of the future. I still occasionally look back on who I was when I was at my lowest, but it's not in a disgusted way. I see the progress I've made and all the good that I've experienced in the days since I was that person. I see that I'm someone who lives in the present, appreciating all the good and the bad that comes with being in the "in-betweens" in my life. I have goals in mind, but I don't let them distract me from the life I'm living now.

By appreciating the moments that make up each day, you appreciate the moments that make you who you are. You're appreciating your growth, your existence. Appreciate the "in-betweens" before they become a past you have to just reminisce on.