The first day of the rest of days

Today marks the first day of the rest of my days. It isn't much different than yesterday. But today, I am no longer a college student. I can no longer blame frat parties or class. There is no more time to say I will do that later. What I do today will effect my tomorrow. Honestly, it is scary. But it is just the same. 

Everyone told me this day will come, we work our whole lives for it. Preschool prepares you for elementary school. Leaving your parents at the door of that class room helps you learn how to let go. Your first boyfriend teaches you there will be so many more. Walking the halls of high school gets you to college, and college prepares you for beyond. What they don't tell you, is that there really isn't a way to prepare.

Surfing Youtube the other day I came across a clip of Taylor Swift talking about her song "Fifteen" and how it is an anthem to her best friend. A staple item in which they can look back on their days in high school. When I was there, when I walked the halls of McNeil I hated it. Now that I'm gone I see the moments that shaped my life. 

Not to get all Taylor Swift on you... 

I miss the nights where 10 girls packed into my minute bedroom on piles of blankets just to watch Friends reruns. How carefree we were, how little we had to worry. The biggest problem was how late we could sleep and still have time to put on full makeup to walk to Kenny's before they stopped serving breakfast tacos. We sat up late talking about things that meant the world to us, boys, clothes, life. In those moments we never thought we would see an end. There would never be a day in which we were not friends, a day where we fought for more than a few punches, or a day that our lives would bring us to different places. In our minds we were in that moment forever. 

And boys, I miss when boys were your world, because your world was so small that is all you needed. When impressing a boy was the thing you had to succeed at. If you failed, there was always another. I remember my most valued competitor, Michael Jarrott. Boy did I want him to be mine, little did I know then the chase was much more thrilling than the reward. But he was so cute. So mysterious. And so Michael. 

What about standing up for a cause? Remember those days? Like standing up for being a nerd. Or being the guy who strips down the hallways five days before graduation... he wasn't even graduating, but he had a cause. The insane effort we put forth as cheerleaders only to find out spring show doesn't matter after high school. It was fighting for a cause because we couldn't fail. When you are in high school your parents will back you up. When you are out of college you back yourself. 

We did all of these things to get us to where we are today. Our lives have changed, though not drastically, but in a very significant way. Today I become an adult, though I'm not sure I know what adult means. The day before my graduation I was lucky enough to see one of my oldest and dearest friends. Sitting on my hotel bed talking to Kaylyn I was reminded just how precious those old memories can be.

I was expecting graduation to do it for me. To make me realize what being in the real world is like. Honestly, I feel the exact same. Perhaps these big milestones are not meant to make us change. Maybe they are just here to track the days. We are still the same person as yesterday, we just can no longer use the excuse of being a student.