“This is the youngest you are ever going to be.” On the surface, this just seems like a fact, something you have heard lots of people say before. But now really look at the words and think about them.

I would say this is one of the scariest sentences I’ve ever seen. We are all going through the phases. High school, college, first job, first apartment, marriage, etc. We all know how it’s supposed to go. But you never really think about how when you finish one phase, you can never go back.

For me, High School feels like forever ago, although, at the time, it went by so slowly. Senior year, all I would hear anyone say is, “I can’t wait to be in college.” Looking back, I wish I had appreciated those moments more and made more time to do the things I loved.

More time to spend with my home friends, with my family, living at home eating delicious food from my favorite restaurants. When I think about it now, I realize I will never consistently live at home with my family the way I once did. I will only be there for short periods of time like holidays and summer breaks, or maybe for a little while after graduation.

Realizing that a chapter of my life is completely over and I won’t be able to go back to it for as long as I live is a little scary.

Now I’m in college. I feel like I dreamed about college my whole High School career. I thought about where I would go, what it would be like, and all the new friends I would make. The thing is, now I’m here. I’ve been here for two and a half years, and in another year and a half, this piece of my life will be gone as well. How is that possible?

A time of your life that you dream about for so long, that you constantly hear people talk about, and all of a sudden, it's over and you have to move on to the next phase. It’s strange to think that once I graduate, I will be done with college, and I can never go back to these worry-free days.

I don’t know much about the next phases other than what my mom tells me and the fiction I see on TV, and I’m definitely excited to see what the future brings. On the other hand, I can’t help but be sad knowing I can never go back to the moments I once had and so looked forward to.

Now, I’m not saying any of this to bring you down, that is truly not the point. Rather, I want to point out the other things that have come into focus as I move through life. The first is, it’s okay to be nostalgic for what once was, as long as we remember to always appreciate each experience.

Each piece we leave behind has taught us a new skill, brought us a new friend, or made us a better person. So don’t let the moments pass by. Do the things you’re scared to do, meet new people, create new experiences. Don’t hold back, never hold back. If you do, you might find yourself with regrets, and with the pace our lives are going at, we really don’t have time for regrets.

“This is the youngest you are ever going to be.” Use this as a mantra to push forward! Use these words as inspiration to spend your time wisely and to do incredible things. Don’t let yourself look back with regrets, but rather look back at the amazing memories you’ve created and use this knowledge to keep yourself moving forward, toward the future you deserve.