End of Summer Nostalgia...
Summer has come to a close and I'm finally entering my last year of university; I'm becoming a bit nostalgic. My childhood is flashing before my eyes and it's ending with a vision of adulthood. YIKES!In 3 weeks, I'll be turning 22. Now to some of you, that may seem young, and in reality it is. But if you asked 6 year old me what my life would look life when I'm 22 I probably would have pictured myself as married (likely to Prince Harry), with children, my own house and as a doctor or actress (12 year old me would see myself with my own cooking show and 16 year old me would see me as a radiologist). 22 year old me is no where near that. 22 year old me is still in university, living at home, and loving it!
To date, I have completed 17 years of schooling (not including those very formative years of pre-school and play school my parents put me in) and this year I'll be going into my 4th, and final, year of university. I feel like I'm a grown up now... and it's so weird. Over the last 17 years, I have learn a lot of useless information in various classes that I have either probably forgotten most of by now or can only be used as an obscure question on Jeopardy. I can still vividly remember grade 1 where I met my first best friends and grade 5 where everyone was playing truth or dare in the back field. All of grade 7 and 8 is fresh in my mind, I still remember the stupid jokes we used to laugh at. I still remember most of those stupid songs we learned in elementary school french class, and even benefitted from some in University French. I have struggled through math as it got increasingly more difficult (and redundant), learned a few more languages that make me appear to be smarter than I may be, and got more from Bill Nye than from any science class. However, I've also learned some things that I use daily. I've had my share of horrible classes as well as awesome ones.
Although I wish some parts of high school would be a blur, I remember most of it. I remember the first day where I introduced my friend to a very pretty blond girl, told her we were going to be friends, and she is still my best friend to this day. I remember the first time I skipped class, the first time I was a real jerk, and how nervous I was for my first exam. High school is where I realized what happens here will have no real effect on the rest of our lives, so why put so much focus into it. High school is also where I realized my non-stop watching of Bill Nye and Magic School Bus will pay off in grade 11 biology when you're failing! Leaving high school was the most refreshing feeling because I knew who I was, who I wanted to be, and what friends could stay for the journey.
Unlike high school, first year of university actually is a blur - an ugly blur of Hebrew characters and microeconomic nonsense. What did I learn from first year? Don't be stupid and take 2 languages at once, along with complex math from a crazy lady who is waiting for the Apocalypse! In first year I made "lasting friendships" that were drama free and amazing. I had tons of lunch dates with these friends, and spent far too much money at McDonalds and Taco Bell. Second and third years were more or less of the same. Different schedules, so I got to see friends less, but it didn't make a differences because we're so close. I realized that not only is university expensive while you're in it, but you'll be paying for it for some time afterwards...
Over the last 17 years, I have made a lot of friends. Few have remained friends over those years, some have become very close friends, and others the friendships dissolved. Together we've gone through immense amounts of laughs, tears, and drama; some of which broke our friendships, others made our friendships stronger. Even though some of those friendships have faded, I still laugh at all the laughs we used to share. I cherish all the amazing friendships I made at my first job at day camp, all the fun we had, my first taste of drama (and certainly not the last), and first feeling like I'm growing up...
Now that summer is ending, I'm getting ready to go into my last year of my undergraduate career, I'm preparing for my 22nd birthday and a good friend's wedding, I feel like it's officially time to grow up. By next year I will be looking for my first real job and getting started on my life. It's time to let go of all the immaturity of the last 17 years and begin to move forward to the new life ahead. A new life that is bound to be amazing!! Yesterday I bought my last planner of my school-career, it was just as sad as it was exciting. But now I can plan for the future.
Goodbye Summer, Hello Life.
