We never truly appreciate all the love and blessings in our lives until we have to imagine life without them. You don’t really ever sit back and realize how incredible your life is until something is about to change.

For myself, this change is moving into my first year of college, away from my family, friends, boyfriend, and the town I grew up in, not that I didn’t appreciate these people in my life before moving away, but I don’t think you can truly see all the little things loved ones do for you in their presence, until that is no longer a privilege you have. You miss mum’s cooking, and talks with dad at the breakfast table, watching your brother's soccer games, sleepovers with friends, and spontaneous day trips with your boyfriend.

You think high school was a drag, and you couldn't wait to get out. And now you don’t live at home, but college isn’t really home for you just yet; so you’re a little lost. The real graduation goggles set in and it’s time to really grow up. You don’t know the next time you’ll see your friends again, or what they’ll be like when you do. There’s a possibility that this is the last time our parents and siblings home is also yours, and nothing is ever going to be exactly the same ever again.

I wish moments could be relived. I wish there was a button you could push and see the same scene of your life flashed before your eyes and played over and over again so that years down the line you could appreciate the significance of that moment and how it shaped you as a person.

But even more so, I wish a year ago, even a month ago, I realized how lucky I am to have a life that I’m devastated to be leaving. I wish that I had treasured little moments at home that I took for granted. I wish I had made more of an effort to spend time at home with my parents, or gone to more of my brother’s soccer games—just made more memories in my first real home before I took on a new one.

I know this will not be the only time I will feel this way. The same change will happen when I graduate from college, move into my first home, and start my own family; but change is continuous and inevitable. It’s all a part of growing up, and I guess as we grow up we grow further and further from our ‘good ole days’, so catch them while you can.