Somehow, it's already September. It feels like the last three months of summer flew by and dragged along all at the same time. It feels like yesterday and last year altogether. I feel like I grew years older in just the span of months. It's easy to ask myself where all the time has gone.

I can remember learning while I little that I was going to grow. I was going to bigger and taller and my legs would get longer. I also learned that I was going to experience some pain. My legs would ache with the change in growth. After seventh grade, I was done growing at 5'7" and the growing pains were gone.

This summer I've realized that the growing pains never truly disappear. They continue to exist, but manifest themselves differently.

Instead of my legs aching, it's my heart aching because half my friends just graduated and are now scattered over the country instead of living in the same state. It's an ache that ibuprofen can't fix, but rather a quick flight or a phone call. I'm thankful for a summertime full of learning and coaxing the aches. Without the growing pains, growth cannot exist. Growth is not painless, but so worth the reward.

And now it's September. The leaves haven't changed, the weather hasn't cooled and the bonfires haven't started. It's before-the-fall, marking a change in direction of growth, learning and abiding.

The summertime went to graduation, birthday parties and catching up with friends. It went to traveling to new cities, having backyard cookouts and screaming loudly at outdoor concerts. It went to weekends at the beach and stargazing at midnight. The time, I think anyone would agree, was spent wisely like a precious commodity.

Looking deeper into my time this summer, I can see even more. My time went to cultivating friendships and watching them turn into something beautiful. It went to grieving heartaches with my best friends and remembering our worth. It went to discovering my place and learning to be patient.

And now I can't wait for the fall.