At some point since the conclusion of my freshman year of college I have realized how difficult, however crucial it has become to learn how to move on and subsequently grow up. I've reached a point in my young life where I no longer care about all the social tension that dictated my actions in high school. I think most young adults returning from college can attest to the amount you truly do grow and and change after your first year. It becomes so obvious that it's okay not to like everyone around you and that swaying from popular opinion no longer gets you banned from the lunch table. There will be brief fragments of time where you can peacefully self reflect on the fact that life isn't all that bad. You realize who your true friends are and how much you appreciate your family. It's a satisfying state of mind to reach. To release all the frustration and unnecessary anxiety you once harbored. It just becomes easier to let things go. Learning to attribute others behavior to external factors more often than their internal "bad" choices. Once you let go and move on to a more accepting form of you, you will be surprised how weightless your mind can become.

"And even when your hope is gone
Move along, move along just to make it through"

As the All American Rejects once told us, sometimes to get through life's shittiest days and gloomiest hours one must simply move along. Life unfortunately comes with risks, heartbreak, loss, and sadness however depending on how one deals with the cards they are dealt can make all the difference. It is important to treat everyone with respect and kindness. It's cruel to enter someone's life with ill intentions or no intentions whatsoever. People are not to be used at the convenience of whomever is in question. To waste someone's time with no real interest in the relationship or how their feelings may break due to your actions is selfish and immature. Never mess with the feelings, hearts or minds of others. Part of becoming mature is realizing that you aren't allowed to come and go as you please into the lives of others. You must act as an adult and treat those you say you care about with respect and decisive intentions.

However, on the other end, if you have been mistreated at some point you just have to move along. Go find the friends and family that make your life richer and cherish them with all your heart. We only have so much time to live on this earth and it should not be wasted on empty relationships and manipulative people. Don't give up on those you care for but never let them abuse your limited love and time on this earth.