A few days ago I turned twenty years old. Looking back over the last seven years of life, I’m amazed at the transformation that has taken place in myself. I don’t think there is a more dynamic time of life than your teens, when everything in your life changes so rapidly. The person you are at 13 and at 20 are so radically different as to be almost two different people. At least that is how I view my own development over that time.

At 13, I was a tall, gangly, awkward kid about to finish 7^th grade. I had no interest in sports and wouldn’t be described as remotely athletic by anyone, and I considered going four miles to be the peak of my athletic accomplishment. I was largely apolitical with only a small awareness that politics was important to me and that I had an interest in them. My taste in anything from movies to music was non-existent, I liked pretty much what ever was on or my parents listened to. At this time and throughout my high school days I would fall into pessimistic funks and would drive my poor mother crazy ranting about how terrible the world was and there was no hope.

At 20, I’m still tall and gangly, but not quite as awkward, young man about to enter his senior year of college. I am a competitive division one collegiate runner who regularly does 80 miles per week in my training, something I’m sure 13 year old me would be utterly astounded by. I’ve become a political stalwart with aspirations of going to law school after graduation and nursing political ambitions. As for movies and music, I’ve developed a very eclectic taste, taking bits and pieces from everywhere. I’m a much more positive person now about life and the world despite recent developments.

This may seem like a lot of change and it is, but a lot of me remains the same from then to now, I've just matured. I still maintain a deep love of history and try to learn as much as I can about it, though I don’t always have the time nowadays to really pursue it. I still remain very devoted to learning and academic pursuits, although surprisingly that is something I only picked up in my teen years. However, it remains important nonetheless. I still maintain a very close relationship with my family, which has only improved as I’ve gotten older and come to appreciate all that they have done for me.

It is truly astounding when considering how a few years can change a person so drastically. Things you never imagined yourself doing in your wildest dreams suddenly become your everyday life. You grow into becoming your own person. Perhaps even more important is what stays the same in you, what parts of yourself grow as you do. I would give anything to see what 13 year old me would make of 20 year old me now. It has been a remarkable seven years, full of ups and downs and though I’m sad to see my teen years pass into memory, I’m excited to see what happens in the next stage of my life. It may sound cliché but goodbye teen years, hello twenties!