Y'all I know this title is REAL cliche... and I apologize but sometimes ya just gotta pour your heart out.

As a freshman, I stuck to the people I had known forever and the ones I was closest to- always refusing to get out of that bubble and introduce myself and meet different, new people. To be honest, I was without a doubt what you would call "stuck up." Now, sitting here, writing this as a 19 year old living 2 hours away from her parents and financially supporting herself... I am here to tell you that I deeply regret the decision I made to stick to my usual group. No, I'm not telling you to completely abandon your friends and make new ones, BUT what I am telling you is to learn individuality, don't be the stuck up kid no one likes, and DO sit with the kid who is all alone at the lunch table- because if I could go back and change a few things, it would be those.

I'm not saying these things to preach at you. I'm saying them to open your eyes a little wider and for you to not be like me- a senior in high school who could barely tell you all of her classmates' names and has about the shortest list of things she was involved in throughout high school. Because guess what guys and gals, as cliche as it sounds... IT FLIES BY and soon you'll have all these incredible moments that are now just memories. So, promise me you'll make every second worth it, you'll make an effort to hang out with your friends as much as possible, you'll be the first to say sorry and the first to forgive, you'll hug your parents, siblings, and grandparents a little tighter every time you see them, you'll get involved in school activities no matter how lame you feel, you'll actually make an effort to learn (I promise it makes school so much easier when you do), you'll stay up all night doing homework some nights, you'll procrastinate- so you will learn how to manage your time, you'll remember to make time for yourself, you'll jump off that 40 foot cliff at Little River Canyon- even if it does take your friends yelling at you for a good 15 minutes, you'll answer that phone call at 3am when your best friend needs you, you'll go riding around town late at night and get Dairy Queen with all your friends just because, you'll make friends with that stranger sitting at the lunch table by himself, you'll scream until your voice is gone at every. single. pep rally, you'll go to those friday night lights and those insanely wild basketball games, most of all- promise me to make an effort to take every day for what it's worth and never take any moment or person for granted. Because one day, you'll look back and see those were all the moments that truly mattered, I mean it.

XOXO

Sarah aka emotional teenager