I've always been kind of a nostalgic person. I mean...Taylor Swift songs are enough to send me into tears when she sings about her mom and about life.

These next few months hold a lot of big things for me, and for that I am very excited. However, it has also come with some pretty scary realizations.

Adult life is approaching fast. I'm already considered an "adult" in the eyes of the law, and I am certainly not ready for that. Now...I'm about to be tossed into the world on my own. Sure, moving out is going to be so much fun. I won't be under the watchful eyes of my parents anymore.

But as I sit here, looking at my room, I can't help but tear up at the thought that my childhood bedroom won't be the place I come home to every night. I am starting over. I'll come home to a strange bed, and it won't be as familiar as the one I sleep in every night now. I won't get to come home to big hugs from my dad when I've had a bad day. I won't get to watch my brother grow in his learning every night while he does his homework. I won't get to listen to my mom come home and talk about her day at work. These are the little things that have been on my mind, and they have led to many other thoughts.

Why are we so eager to grow up?

I think we paint this idea in kids' heads that when we get older, we will have our dream job and we will be thriving and that we will have it all figured out. I mean, kids are really innocent and you can't tell them anything else without breaking their hearts. However, I think that the message that we should be sending to kids as they are growing up is that hard work goes a long way in getting what we want. Nothing is just handed to you.

I think I've always had this sort of cookie cutter mindset in my head that life will just always work out, whether I go the extra mile or not. In a sense, it's true. However, the reward of working hard goes further than anything I could ever imagine.

When I was a kid, it was easy. I didn't have to work hard for anything. I played in the backyard, and responsibilites seemed miles away. Even into my high school years, studying was stressful and sports were time consuming, but that's normal. I didn't really have any life-altering responsibilities.

Now, I sit here and I feel like a million things have been put in front of me all at once. Bills, payments, my future career. Just bam. All there in front of me.

I think the moral of what I am trying to say is that we should be enjoying time instead of trying to look towards the future so much. Enjoy being young. Enjoy having no responsibilities. Seniors, enjoy your last year before you have any big responsibilities. Enjoy the present, so that when the future comes, you'll be able to enjoy that too.