I've seen the number 2021 since I was five years old. I didn't really know what it meant until I was about ten, though; it's the year I graduate high school. When I realized why it was a landmark number for me, I figured, ¨Thats so far away!¨ But now it's 2021, and I'm graduating. 

There wasn't much to worry about when I was five. My biggest concerns consisted of when it was going to be my turn to go on the swings during recess and what my mom packed me for lunch. Things were easier, less stressful. When I was five most of my days were the same, and that was a source of comfort for me. I woke up, went to school, came home, and filled my free time playing with barbies, playing outside, or getting together with the other kids in my neighborhood. Something about the repetitiveness of childhood filled me with a sense of calm and ease. The feeling of being a kid sometimes comes back to me in waves of nostalgia, and it makes me wonder… When did it all change? Where did all the constants in my life go?

After pondering, I've come to the realization that, as much as it may sting, things are constantly changing. That's just life; it goes on. Personally, this conclusion has been a hard pill to swallow, but the principle that nothing lasts forever has led me to appreciate the little things in my life. This idea has also greatly influenced my choices. I do everything to my fullest potential with a newfound understanding that opportunities could come once and never again. My focus shifted from waiting for the weekend to living every day as if it were Friday. I stopped wasting my time on people who did not exert the same amount of effort as I was for them; I started spending more time with my family; I stopped watching the clock during school, waiting for the time to pass. Time will pass. 

Along with this epiphany came other realizations. I noticed that I had been centering my focus on petty minutiae, and all the while, everything I could ever need to be happy was right in front of me. I noticed that I would stress myself out if I got a bad grade on an assignment, or if drama somehow arose among me and my friends. Stress would come to me if the slightest inconvenience revealed itself. Now, knowing well that life could pass me by at any minute, I can't remember the last time I was this at ease. 

Life isn't always easy; in fact, most of the time it's really, really difficult. Things change, events don't go the way you planned, people leave, trials and tribulations sometimes leave you gasping for breath. When I was left longing for the constants of my childhood, my intuition reminded me to move on. I knew I must let things go, because if I held on for too long, life would keep going. Life would have kept moving, but I would have been stuck wishing for something that wasn't possible; for things to be the way they used to be.

Now, I make it my ultimate goal to live in the moment every chance I get. I don't sweat the petty stuff anymore. I don't waste my time on things that aren't important to me. A hard pill to swallow is that life keeps going and things are always going to change. However, I've learned that if you can just keep pushing, keep shifting your focus onto what matters, and keep working hard, your life isn't going to be the only thing that changes. You will, too. And this shift in yourself will be bigger than any hardship or change that life throws your way.