During freshman year, I didn’t know what to wear. On the first day of high school, I proudly sported a black v-neck with a black cami underneath (black on black, very chic), a floor-length Boho skirt with fringe and sequins that faded from light pink to a mauve taupe as it neared my plastic Old Navy flip flops. Being the bohemian goddess that I was, I topped this off with matching pink and silver hoop earrings and chunky blonde highlights that made me look “soooooooooo mature!”

     I still don’t know how to dress. I wear zebra print sweaters and I love it.

During sophomore year, I didn’t know how to interact with boys. I dumped one boy for another boy, got dumped by that boy for another girl, was oblivious to a boy friend liking me and found yet another boy that I liked. This all happened in the course of six months.  

I still don’t know how to talk to boys. I can only express myself through seven-paged texts and I love it. (But they don’t.)

     During junior year, I didn’t know how to use trigonometric functions, find the invariant mass of a moving object or pass an AP test over the very language I’ve spoken since I was two. However, one beautiful spring day, a certain small cheery friend and I made the spontaneous decision to “go to the library” during a certain trusting teacher’s academically rigorous class, and ended up on my trampoline with two tall glasses of lemonade, the melodious sound of Justin Timberlake and the most epic tans ever.

     I still don’t know how to perform any of the previously mentioned academic endeavors (in fact, I had to Wikipedia “pre-cal vocab” and “physics problems” to even find these terms), but I’ve found how to learn in my own way and I love it.

     During my senior year, I didn’t know what to do with my life. Over the past two semesters, I dreamt of being a wedding planner, a UN ambassador (saver of the world, etc), a nutritionist, an actress, a photographer and a stay-at-home mom. I considered attending Florida State University, The University of Arkansas, St. Edward’s University, San Francisco State University, Baylor University, St. Louis University or ditching out on higher education all together to embark on a soul-searching quest to the uninhabited wilderness of Alaska. Through this year, I let my girl friends influence me, I let my guy friends influence me, I let my work friends influence me, I let my teachers influence me, I let my parents influence me; but in the end I decided to just do what I love and pursue the things that make me happy.

     I fully believe that the passion instilled within each individual is there for a reason and we’re meant to follow it. And though I still don’t know “where I’ll be in ten years,” I’m positive that I’ll be happy, I’ll be surrounded by people I care about and I know I’ll love it.