In high school, many of us just wanted the four years to fly by. We all moaned and groaned about waking up early and dealing with petty drama. We just want to walk across the stage, throw our caps in the air, and "really start our lives" in college.

Then we finally get there and we can't wait to turn 21 and get that amazing internship junior or senior year so that we can score a stellar job after graduation. We keep looking forward to another moment that lies ahead, not realizing how important the moments we are having right now are.

At this moment, I wish more than anything that the time would stop.

I feel like the past three years I've spent at UCF have been completely swept from under me. I can't believe I'm going into my final year in a couple of weeks. Although I've lived through so many experiences and have grown so much as a person, I still wish I could do it all over again, not because I would do anything differently, but because it would mean I could rewind and not have to watch the days go by like minutes.

Lately, I've been trying to live life for who I am and where I am in this moment. Yes, graduating from college is a huge accomplishment, but I'm not as eager to walk across the stage this time. I don't want to think about throwing my cap in the air. I like how life is - right now.

As much as I wanted to grow up as a kid and teenager, I don't want to grow up anymore. Not right this minute. In a few weeks I will turn 22, and although I'm still so young, it feels like yesterday that I was celebrating my Sweet 16 - wishing I was 18. And then celebrating my 18th birthday - wishing I was 21.

I think the present is one of the best gifts in life that gets taken for granted by almost everyone. They say the journey is always better than the destination, and that's where I feel like my life is at right now. I just want the journey to slow down a bit so it won't pass me by before I realize how special it is.

Reminiscing on old memories that I didn't realize would impact me so much at the moment always reminds me to be in the now. I truly believe everyone should live that way. It's hard to not think about what lies ahead, but it's harder to accept the fact that you didn't live in the moment the way you should have when it's too late. We can never reverse time, as much as we may want to.

I encourage anyone and everyone who is reading this to do something spontaneous every day for the rest of the week. It can be as minimal as trying a new food or as crazy as taking a last-minute vacation to somewhere you've never been. I also recommend keeping a journal and documenting important moments in your life, because they will be gone before you know it. However, if you have those experiences written in words, you can stop time - just for a little.