Here it comes. Here comes the beginning of the rest of your life. Here comes your independence. Here comes your freedom, your liberty, and your future. Here comes the start of a new adventure with all new surroundings and all new people. Here comes the discovery of you and your capabilities. Here comes forever...
But there it goes. There goes the comfort of your mom's hug when your heart has been broken. There goes the Friday night lights that will forever brighten the stadium you consider home. There go your best friends, and the convenience of driving to their house at 2 a.m. to go to Waffle House. There goes your family, and waking up to see all of their faces every morning. There go your dogs and being able to hear their excited barks every time you walk through the door. There go your final days in those hallowed halls that will always define the person you became. There goes the uniform you've played in for four years now. There goes the last pitch, shot, goal, or pass you will ever make on that field or court again. There go your senior prom, your last exam, your graduation, your summer, and the goodbyes. There go your familiarity and all of the people and places that fell alongside.
Because with every new journey you're about to embark on, there is going to be something you'll have to say goodbye to for a little while. This time is exciting and beautiful, but take heart and leave nothing for granted. Because you will be sitting in your dorm on that first night with either a complete stranger or with someone you know across from you and it will all make sense.
It will make sense why they told you to extract every ounce of joy that you could your during senior year. It will make sense why they told you to hug your mom a little tighter during those last few months. It will make sense why you were supposed to keep in touch with those you never did. It will make sense why you received constant questions about where you were going to college. It will make sense why you took countless college-readiness surveys and questionnaires.
They were trying to prepare you for becoming a stranger to everything you used to know, and become comfortable with everything you were about to be.
And then it will hit you again when you're home for Thanksgiving, and your family is talking about events, conversations, memories, and everything else you've missed. You'll love your new life and all of the exciting friendships that accompany it, but there will always be a little piece of home that you'll never fill. It will hit you again when you're studying for exams and you will remember complaining about high school exams that you wish you could go back and take instead. It will hit you when you're home for winter break and you've had to miss putting up the tree with your family because you were at school. It will hit you when the seniors after you begin talking about graduation and how they can't wait to leave. It will hit you when you begin to see all the prom-posals and excitement of girls as they purchase their dresses. It will hit you when you come home to visit, and you feel like a stranger in your own bed. It will hit you when you're overwhelmed with the weight of your schoolwork and all you want to do is hold your mom's hand, hear encouraging words from your father, or joke with your siblings. It will hit you, and you won't be able to change the past. You'll want to savor every moment you spent your last days here, but it will be too late.
So make sure it's not too late. Practice the motto of "carpe diem" every single day you have left at home. Don't just make the best out of your senior year. Make the best out of every day you have before you pack your bags and begin your life.
There is so much going forward, and there is so much to look toward, but slow down and keep everything you have right in front of you in focus. Because, before you know it, all of who you are will become who you were, and who you will become will begin to make all the difference.
