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| Delicious cupcakes my mom had a local bakery deliver to me. I'm such a sugar fiend I didn't think to snap a pic for her until after I grabbed the one I wanted (top right). |
These times made me happy, but I can’t say I was looking forward to 22. For the first time in my life, I thought, “Wow… I’m old”. Just a few hours earlier, I was prancing around the bar in party hats with my pals… now I’m sitting at my desk, planning out my next weeks and paying bills (woo!). Growing older scares me, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. It’s not just the idea of bills and babies, but the achy bones, the expectations, and the idea of 20 years later wondering “What have I accomplished? Have I made a difference?”. I am the kind of person who can get so caught up in the details that at times, I forget that there’s a bigger picture.
If there’s one thing growing up has taught me, it’s about the importance of cherishing people and your relationships. On Saturday, I participated in a memorial 10k race honoring a friend who recently passed away. Enoch was truly an inspiration to me – he was so driven and passionate, yet incredibly kind and humble. He wanted to save the world, and was always looking out for others. The day before he passed, I was hurrying through the student center with a billion things on my mind, and I saw him from afar. I thought “Oh I should stop and chat”, but I was already running late and decided that I would see him out during homecoming weekend so catching up could wait. That night, he was killed in a car accident. Six months later, I still replay that mental conversation in my head. I completely took the future for granted, and failed to take advantage of opportunities in the moment. When I look back, I wish I decided to go say hi, to see how his day was going, find out what his plans were for later.
Although I’ll never get that moment back, I've made it a priority to put people first in my life. We only have a limited time on earth, and it’s important that we cherish and acknowledge the people that help make our lives wonderful. It sounds so cliche, but sometimes even just a smile from a loose acquaintance can make someone’s day a bit brighter (it does for me!). While I am still uncertain about aging, I am lucky I was able to ring in 22 with the people I love the most; and if the next 22 years are anything like the first, I think I will be just fine.
x A
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