One day, you're going to wake up and realize that the life you are living now is different.
You're going to wake up and you won't be in your dorm room anymore with your freshman roommate or you won't be putting your clothes on to get ready for a long day at school.
You're not going to put on your uniform anymore. You're not going to hear the cheers from your teammates. Or see your best friends every day.
You're going to wake up and realize that time has passed and life is so different.
There are going to be a lot of lasts and not many more firsts. Last first day of school, last game day, last graduation, last test, last class - there are going to be so many that it will make your brain spin.
Growing up is one of the scariest things we will probably ever have to face.
Change is scary and leaving behind such familiar things that brought so much joy into our lives is terrifying.
There are so many things that we lose when we grow older. We lose some friends, moments, rituals, schedules, and sometimes, we lose a part of the person that we used to be.
One day, this won't be your life anymore.
There won't be anymore trips to the local diner with your best friends at 2 AM. No more all nighters spent studying in the library with only your coffee and laptop to keep you company.
No more learning from professors who have the ability to instill inspiration within you to do what you have always dreamed of.
No more practices. No more games. No more coaches yelling at you to make the play. No more team bonding dinners.
The future is imminent and as far away as it may seem, it is so much closer than you would think.
You're in your senior year of high school one moment and the next you're already almost completely finished with college. You're almost that much closer to graduation.
You're almost a full fledged adult with absolutely no idea what to do.
Because what do you do when the life you have lived for so long is going to change?
What do you do when you're no longer a student?
No longer an athlete?
No longer a dancer? A singer? A musician? Your college's newspaper editor?
What then?
And these are the questions we will all struggle with.
How do you define yourself without the label and purpose you have had for so long?
Sometimes, it's hard to think of ourselves without these labels attached to us. But we can work to make the future "labels" even better.
We can be nurses, doctors, lawyers, teachers, or whatever else we want. We can be mothers, wives, husbands, dads, uncles, aunts.
We can start doing something else with our lives. We can get ready for the world that is ahead of us.
It's scary, never knowing for sure how the future will turn out. And it's nice to have the stability of school, a sport, a talent, etc. Nothing bad can happen to us when we are confined to this set image of ourselves.
We are who we are but as this image of us is slowly lost with time and growing up, it's enough to make anyone start running away.
Or we can continue on and enjoy our last remaining days in the life we are currently living. Don't be afraid to make mistakes or take a few risks - we hardly remember the bad times as much as we remember the good.
There is nothing worse than spending our last moments in remorse or regret. There is nothing to lose except the last precious feelings of comfort.
Those feelings won't be lost forever.
Our lives may change and the people in them, but we can make the most of them once we are there.
One day, this won't be your life anymore. But enjoy it while it is and don't fear for what is afterwards.
Get excited for the person you will become and the results to come with it.
This stage of our life is good but the next one is better.