The story starts right at your very first memories; the very memories you look back and smile at when times were happy and everything was seen with kaleidoscope eyes. Your very first memory of your mom holding your hand through a theme park, or your baby self dancing in a rain shower on a puddle. These memories are the best ones we will ever have. Think of them as your safe haven; when you’re feeling upset or bothered, you look back at these memories for the slightest grin. Consider this the purest age.

As you're growing up, you begin to accumulate more and more responsibility and more worries. Now, as a toddler, you worry about whether you behaved well enough to go to Disney next week, or if mommy is going to give you candy today after dinner, or losing a crayon in your crayon box. My biggest worry as a child was wondering whether my sister would tell my mom about my evil master plans. None the less, this is the stage where we begin to learn how to worry and stress. Consider this the beginning.

Elementary school time! Excitement fills your heart to know you are a “big kid,” now. You wonder what your next grade level has in store for you, you are ambitious, eager to learn, and hungry for knowledge. I remember being so ready every day of class; I loved school, I loved everything about it– the kids, the teachers, the cafeteria and the office employees. Consider this the Golden Age.

Everyone goes through puberty, and middle school is definitely where kids go through this stage. Remember back in middle school where your mom said no but you said yes? Do you remember being yelled at constantly? This is the time where you rebelled against all odds, even if you agreed you didn’t. This time is where all your self image and self esteem issues stem from because this is when you begin to truly understand your body and what it means to be, “beautiful.” Because you went through puberty this is when you are most likely the, “ugliest,” which means your perception of yourself significantly lowers. Consider this the Dark Age.

Finally! You made it out alive and are now entering the notorious high school where you feel like you need to meet certain expectations and guidelines to be in the in group. Your biggest worry is how to tell your crush you like him/her. You also worry about college, and your future way more than you need to. You worry about what you want to be, because obviously you are clueless and have no idea what you are going to be in life. This is the age of decisions you are more than likely still too young and immature to make. This is the age to put yourself together and begin to grow up. Consider this the Age of Orientation.

College, last stage of growing up. This is where you apply everything you’ve learned through out all your life and use it. This is where you get to be you. Stay true to your morals and your personal values and always remember what your parents taught you and what life itself has shown you. Remember everything happens for a reason and even when you think the universe is against you, you have to turn it all around and understand that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Keep learning, your time isn’t over yet.

Live, laugh, and learn.