In a week, another 365 days will have come and gone, meaning only one thing. Another birthday, another year older. It's hard to believe that 22 years of my life have already gone by. I still remember boarding the bus on my first day of Kindergarten. I remember suffering my awkward stage in middle school, and the rollercoaster of high school change. Now, I am in my senior year of college, navigating graduate school applications and cramming for the GRE. Who knew life would fly by so quickly.

Growing up, I always thought I wanted to be older. To be an adult. But man, was I wrong. The older I got, the more I wished I were younger again. Although I can't go back in time, I can look back on the past and reflect on all the lessons I've learned. Some of the most important lessons I've learned are about letting go. About not holding onto people who don't want to be in your life anymore. About letting go in order to find your own peace. About letting go in order to allow yourself to bloom. I've also learned that sometimes, our futures don't go the way we planned, but that in all, there is something greater waiting for us than what we had envisioned. I've learned that inner peace is hard to attain, but we should never stop striving for it. I've learned that loving yourself and embracing who you are is scary and difficult, but it is the only way to find that inner peace. And finally, I've learned that today matters. Even if today seems insignificant, it lends us small change, which in all, will lead to the big changes that shape our lives and who we are.