My best friend goes to MIT.

Boston. Boston is fine when it is just for college; all of my friends went away for college. We can all come home for break.

Home. 'Home' for this friend has become Massachusetts. Her family moved up there.

Summer. Summer is when we have time to travel, so she should have time to visit us at her old home.

California. This is where she took an amazing summer internship.

January 3. The last time I saw my best friend.

Three. After seven summers, 'four best friends' has suddenly become three this summer.

This is my reflection on growing up.

Growing up is exciting. Freedom, moving somewhere new, new friends, new experiences, and new memories await us. It really is all very exciting. They do not tell you this when you are younger, but "everybody leaves." I first heard this from Peyton Sawyer in One Tree Hill. Everyone canleave, that is. People need to live their dreams, reach their goals, and strive for whatever their definition of success is. Am I happy that my best friend is in California for her summer internship? No. Am I happy for her? Absolutely. She has never ceased to amaze me and I am beyond excited to see what she does with her life. They do not tell you when you are younger that you will have to put your personal feelings aside and be happy for those you love, no matter what.

Change. They do not tell you when you are younger how much change you will have to adjust to. College is a lot at first. You are away from your home--your family, friends, and house that you grew up in, out into a sea of new faces, surroundings, and living arrangements. You come back home, probably hoping for the familiarity of your life that you knew before college, just to find that people may have changed. You may not have all the same friends you used to, and even worse, some of those friends may no longer live where you call 'home.' You may be one of those friends with a new place to call 'home'. As much as you would like to, you cannot stop the change from happening. Change may seem scary, but it truly does make you grow as a person, for the better. No matter what change you go through, you will always have your true friends. True friends will never leave you. Even if you are physically apart, they will always support you and care about you. Welcome to the changing whirlwind of adulthood. Brace yourself--it can be a wild ride.

Never stay in your comfort zone. Keep pushing yourself out of it. It will lead to a happier and more fulfilled life. To my best friend; if you are reading this, I hope you miss me as much as I miss you and that you know how proud I am of you. You have never let yourself stay in your comfort zone for one second, and I know that you will do big things because of it. You could have taken an internship in our city, but you know what you want and what you need to do. We are all so proud of you and inspired by you. See you sometime.