It's that time of the summer: things start winding down, high school students start realizing that they won't have enough time to finish their summer projects, college students start gearing up for the beginning of the semester, incoming freshman start thinking about dorming ideas, etc. It's honestly my favorite time of the year, not just because I get to buy new office supplies (I honestly have a problem. The office section of Target is my best friend), but because it's something I like to call, "weeding season."

Weeding Season (noun): a time before school starts when you start realizing that there's people you need to leave behind for your own well-being. See also: the "cutting off" phenomenon.

I started thinking about this earlier today when I finally resigned from my job. As I walked out for the very last time, I realized that it's OK to be sad, but things aren't made to last forever. In order for me to grow as an employee and a professional, I had to find another job that would challenge me and help me grow more. I realized how much my life was going to change within the next few weeks, and although it's scary, it's something that had to happen.

But it's not just with jobs. I've been through my own fair share of weeding seasons with friends, acquaintances, etc. I watched a sermon about two years ago that one of my close friends sent me. The overall message was that if you know that some people shouldn't be in your life, why keep them there? If you know that your happiness is being compromised because of certain people in your life, you're really putting yourself in jeopardy. It's not fair to you, at all.

There's also this great quote that goes, "People are in your life for a season, reason, or lifetime." Essentially, not everyone is meant to be in your life forever. Just because someone was there to help you out of a rut when you were in a certain position in your life, it doesn't mean that they're going to be right for you in the future. People grow and things change and it's OK to let go if you don't feel satisfied anymore. It's OK if you need a change.

So as we start to wind down and reflect on the summer and our upcoming semester, ask yourself: "do I need these people in my life? Do I need this job or this program?" As human beings, we're meant to change, but I think that we're also very afraid of changing into something we don't want to.

I urge everyone to change. Change for yourself, change for the better, hell, change for the worst and then learn from it. Life is about evolving and changing the bad parts so you can one day reach your final form.