To The Girl Who's Growing Up And Isn't Ready For It,

Know that it's not just you. Everything is changing. We're all growing up. Some of us are handling it better than others- Some of us are freaking out- some of us are right on track- and some of us are headed down a very bad path. This decision is ours to make.

Some of us are still haunted by that quote we heard on the Twitter Hashtag "#FreshmanAdvice." You know the one- the one that promised us that who we walked in those doors with on the first day of freshman year probably wouldn't be by our sides as we graduated. But then again- some of us are closer with our middle school best friends than we ever have been in our lives.

I'm trying not to let growing up freak me out. Change is amazing, I've always been pretty receptive to it. These days, however, I'm realizing these changes that I'm currently working through aren't changes like something different at school lunch or a new boy in class. I just got my license, new family members are getting married, new babies are being born, new relationships are starting and finishing. With that, I constantly have to pause at the moment and remind myself that one day, these moments are going to be history, I'm going to look back, smile, and laugh at them.

I find simple and pure happiness in realizing that my happiest, most exciting, most inspiring moments will be able to relive later on when they are really, truly needed in my life to keep me going.

There are moments, however, that I wish I could forget and omit from my past. We all have them. These moments are just a part of growing up. Don't be afraid of them. A Ted Talk I watched the other day in AP English taught me that shame and guilt are not forces to fear. Vulnerability is beautiful in its own special way. Honesty, realness, and rawness have beauty in it. So don't be afraid to make mistakes as you grow up. We're all in this journey together and we're all making life-changing decisions, even if they come in super tiny and secretive ways like a job offer or a report card or a decision to get in the car when you know you shouldn't.

We're all going through it. We're handling it- some of us better than others. But ultimately, as we grow up, we're able to gain more and more newfound freedom and independence for ourselves and we're responsible to make our own decisions and carve paths for our own individual lives.

Get rid of the constant anxieties. The ones that make us wanna back down, quit, and give up. We cannot let our fears influence us so much that they stop us from following our dreams, emotions, and passions.

Where we want to end up is up to us. We can't let out futures make us afraid- we must let them excite us and inspire us to do amazing things and work for what we want.

Growing up is a gift and a blessing- not a force to fear. We're all learning this one day at a time, myself included.

Love Always,

The Girl Who's Just As Afraid As You Are