Venting

Today, I was looking over my calendar for the next few weeks, making note of upcoming final tests, due dates, getting ready for summer volunteer positions and planning my sweet sixteen… it makes me exhausted!

Most years, I get super excited for my birthday, whether I am having a party or just having dinner with my family.  I start counting down from weeks and weeks before, only to have my birthday pass by in an instant. This year, for some reason, I’m really excited about my big sweet sixteen, but to be honest, I am also a bit scared.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my birthday. And I know this whole spiel makes me sound kind of old, and I know that turning 16 leaves plenty of years left in my lifespan, but how many more years of relative ‘carefree-ness’ do I have left?

I’ll be taking driving lessons for my permit soon, which scares the life out of me AND MY PARENTS (stay off the roads, people). On top of that, I’ve already chosen classes for tenth grade, which is weird because it seems like I just started freshman year yesterday.  Now, I’m actually calling places and applying for summer volunteer jobs instead of getting ready for an annual family cruise or overseas trip.  It’s too much already…

It seemed fun in 8^th grade to apply for college brochures, but now that I’m getting ready for tenth grade, it just hit me like a ton of bricks!  Everyone says that time flies, but I’m just starting to realize how it really does.

For now, I’m going to keep doing what I do: studying hard at school, taking pictures to hold onto those moments that last, spending time with my little sister, taking care of my chores and keeping a positive outlook on whatever comes, but I also am going to try to enjoy every minute I’m alive.

This sounds extremely clichéd, but I don’t want to waste any time being sad or scared or angry — life is moving fast and I want to cherish it.