Appreciate Who You Are Now - Change Is Coming

As I was pulling out of my driveway and headed to Florida for a summer internship, I didn't really think that my life was about to drastically change. With my belongings packed, I waved goodbye and left. I never thought that would be my last time living at that house, permanently. Nor did I think I was leaving behind who I was... permanently. 

Photo: Me and my little sister

The Unexpected

Upon leaving this summer, the original plan was to go to Florida for a summer internship, work my butt off, really figure out what I wanted to do with my life, come home, and then go to school in the fall. But, life happened. The internship and the summer part went as expected. It was the not-returning-home part that wasn't expected. Hell, I don't even know when I am going to see my family next most of the time anymore. It was a big decision. A very hard decision nonetheless because I had this idea in my head of how my life was going to be for the next six months. I absolutely had to make a choice (due to many reasons I won't get into.) It was most certainly the RIGHT decision. I had to do what I had to do in order to make things work. I am amazed at how quickly my life is changing, how I am rising up in the media industry, in my career, in other jobs, and so much more! Not to mention, my opinions on SO MUCH have changed. It's so strange to think that only 4 months ago I was the nervous college student going off on an internship, and now I'm the confident (still technically a college student), woman who has her grabbed her career by the horns and is taking off. My life is changing every second and I'm very excited about that! Then, I reflected on who I was just 4 short months ago.

photo: An interview I had with Jake Miller

Miss Who You Were

I've started to miss who I was. Not because I was a better person or anything or liked my life more. But, because times were just different. I worried about different things, I thought different thoughts, my priorities were different, and even my friends were different. I realized that I will never again be the same way that I was right then at that moment. I literally feel like I have aged 5 years in 4 months. The person you are  RIGHT NOW is going to be a different person than you will be in a few months. I can almost guarantee it. Will you even have the same interests? Friends? Opinions?  I didn't really get the time I wanted to enjoy who I was because I thought I would move back after the internship and I would go about life the way I had planned. I "expected" my life to change. But how QUICKLY it changed, how MUCH it changed and the WAY it changed is a different story. I am happy with who I am right now. Very happy. But, I miss who I was, too. I wish I would have appreciated who I was at the moment it was happening. However, I didn't think that things were going to happen this way.

These Are The Good Days

So many times I look back at old photos and think "Those were the good days. I wish I knew that at the time." Well, now is your time to realize it. These are the good days, too. 

As you are reading these words, take a moment to appreciate who you are right now. Who are you friends with? What are your opinions on religion and politics? What is your favorite color? In a few months, maybe even weeks, perhaps even tomorrow... you could think differently. You will never be exactly the same person as the person you are at this moment. It's sort of an overwhelming thought, I know. Appreciate who you are right now, even if you don't necessarily "love" everything about your life or your circumstances. Because one day you will realize that it was all worth while, and you might just wish you had appreciated it more when it was happening. 

Sometimes, you will find yourself in a season of change. You might not even know it's coming, either. I mean heck. I planned on moving back to Michigan and carrying out my plans. But, that's not what happened. I live across the country now, you know? Sometimes I still can't believe it.... change arrives so fast sometimes that you don't even know it's happening until you're staring at yourself in the face and you're unrecognizable. Not in a bad way. In a good way. Appreciate each day as it happens, because life can change in the blink of an eye. These are the good days.