During the last semester of high school, I missed a lot of school for different doctors appointments. Everyone would ask me what was wrong, and I could never give them an answer because I didn't have one. I remember feeling different than everyone else but trying to make the best out of it and succeeding.

The summer before I started my first semester of college, I began my first full-time job. While my friends were going on a road trips, to the pool, or movies, I had to respond saying, “Sorry…I have to work.” It was a difficult adjustment, but once my classes had started, the full-time job moved to part-time. My class load was hefty, and I worked a little under twenty hours a week. This meant I would wake up, go to a class or two, work a shift, finish up my classes for the day, do some homework, and go straight to bed.

I remember having days during the week when work and classes would go from 9 a.m.-9 p.m., before dinner or responsibilities of mine had even been considered, and I was sick every few weeks. There wasn’t much time for sleep or hanging out with friends. I had to pick one of the two, but I was all right with that.

Things change whenever your response to plans for the night or weekend involves “Oh, after work I’m doing homework and going to bed because I have work in the morning.” There’s a moment when the craziness of life hits you and you realize that you’re not just a little kid anymore, and the craziness will never stop. There isn’t time to wake up to pancakes and your lunch made for the day by your mom. You begin to realize, if you don't make the best out of life, you'll be miserable.

Whenever I first realized that my “childhood” was officially over, after a long day and paying a few small bills, there was a sense of peace. Childhood is bittersweet and a time that everyone wants back. I’m at the age where I have the resources to make an impact in what I want for my life by choosing the direction that I want to go in and pursuing it. Some days the craziness seems to never stop and ice cream feels like the only solution, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. There’s a sense of peace that comes over you whenever you’re okay with the changes and okay when everything's not.