As far back as I can remember, I always spent the fourth of July at my grandparent's cottage on the lake. We would always have family in from out of town, eat dinner , have a bonfire, light flares at 10 o'clock, and walk down the road to the state park for fireworks. These memories all came flooding through my mind as I spent my first Fourth changing up this tradition.

This year I spent the majority of the day with my boyfriend and his family, and only stopped by to see my side for about an hour. Don't get me wrong, I had a fantastic time, but the realization that certain parts of my life that have never changed were changing hit a place that I've never noticed before.

With going to college and coming close to the end of the four years, you realize that many things that used to be your norm are going to be changing. Whether you are planning to get a job, go to grad school or anything else, there is a great chance that you'll have to get your own place away from home. Some people may have already done this, but for those who haven't, like me, it is both a scary and exciting time.

Going to yet another new place, meeting more new people, starting a new job or form of education and living on your own possibly for the first time; it's a lot of change. Thinking about how it will affect other people in your life, your parents, siblings, friends; things will most likely not be the same. You may grow farther apart from people you used to be attached at the hip to, parents might have to pick up on all of the chores that you did when you were home. It is going to affect everyone, and although it's sad and scary, it will all be okay.

To add to the things changing in your life, you may become more serious about relationships and find someone who you could spend an extended amount of time with. Now you may choose to spend time with them instead of your own friends and family. Old traditions may change because now you have two people that are morphing into one, and new traditions may come about.

This can be a difficult thing to think about, all of those happy memories and traditions and relationships are changing.

Although it's hard, you have to learn to look at the positives that are coming out of the changes occurring. New experiences, new jobs, new people, new traditions; they'll never delete the old ones, but instead add to your collection and give you more to (hopefully) be happy about.

Just because things change, people move away or add more individuals to their circle, the one's who were there for you before will most likely be there for you after. The memories and experiences of your past are not going anywhere either, and although change is hard, it is essential for growth.

The amount of pleasure and experiences change can bring are endless, but it can be hard to leave the old ones behind. Just remember to look at the positives and the areas in which you will grow, and never forget the people, traditions, and memories that made you who you are.