If you're anything like me, you've wanted to pack up and get out of the small town you grew up in since you were twelve years old. You've counted down the days until graduation, religiously, and you've found yourself practically bursting with anticipation for the new life you'll soon get to decide for yourself.

Over the past year, the petty fights with the people you've been friends with since kindergarten became all the less worth fighting. You drifted from the "best friend" you entered high school with and no longer speak more than a casual "hi, how are you?" in the hallway. You got annoyed with your parents for reminding you multiple times each day to do your homework, since after all, you're "not a kid anymore". Overall, if you're anything like me, you were done living in the small town you grew up in and you were ready to leave it all behind for a little while.

That is, until it finally hits you that this is it. Your last football game in the student section, proudly decked out in your schools colors. Your last school dance. The very last time you will be able to look around and see each and every one of your classmates faces in the same room at the same time. You're an adult now, or soon to be one. Your entire future is in your naïve hands. If you're anything like me, that thought terrifies you. You're mad at yourself for not fighting harder to stay close with the people who you shared your favorite childhood memories with. You’ve realized that had it not been for your parents constant nagging, you never would've been where you are today and the excitement you once had to embark on your new journey is clouded by a strong sense of nostalgia.

Suddenly, your parents nagging doesn’t bother you so much anymore because you know that all they've ever truly wanted for you is the best. You're more wishful for nights you'll never forget with your friends than the ones you'll never remember. When you think back on every little fight that drove you away from the people you were close with, you become appreciative for the lessons that came out of them for they made you who you are.

If you're anything like me, you're regretful for all of the time you spent wishing you could leave and you're dreading the goodbyes you once thought couldn't come soon enough. If you're anything like me, you're not so sure anymore if you're ready to leave everything behind. You don't know if you're content with letting everything you know become everything you knew. If you're anything like me you've matured and realized how blessed you are to have been surrounded by people who turned the small town you grew up in into the home that built you.