Summer is coming to a close and so much has happened. I've traveled more than I have any other summer. I've been adventurous. I've eaten way too much ice cream. I took an online summer course while having a full time job and an internship. I've lost some relationships, but have made new ones. This summer has been a roller coaster with so many twists and turns. I honestly don't know how I made it out alive. In a matter of three months, so much has changed: including me. Summer 2016 has taught me a lot about myself, other people, and the way the world works.

I'm going to be a sophomore in college, and I still don't know exactly what I want to do. I've discovered how much I love to travel and explore, though. I've been to several Virginia state parks to hike, go on nature walks, and to kayak once. I realized that I want to see the world and find all its hidden gems. I want to experience what every culture has to offer. I don't want to be a tourist, I want to be a local. I've realized that there is so much more to the world than what's in a 20 mile radius of my home.

I have also accepted that I won't have the same people in my life forever or even in a month. I've realized that I can't put all my marbles in one person and expect them to always treat them with care. I have always known that people may not be who they seem to be, but I think that I really have to prepare myself for the worst or else I'll get hurt. I've learned to trust my instincts from the start, and that no one is perfect and I shouldn't expect things to not change over time.

The world is cruel. Many Americans are living in fear because people and even police are targeting citizens who are black, gay, transgender, and other minority characteristics. No American should have to fear for their lives because some people can't get over the fact that there is no ideal human being: everyone is different. It's time to accept us as one race -- the human race, as anti-racism educator, Jane Elliot, promotes. But no matter how much we preach this, we have to realize that we can't expect to accept it and move on: it's not that simple.

This summer, many innocent lives were taken, the Black Lives Matter movement emerged, Donald Trump has officially been declared the Republican Nominee, Pokémon GO is getting people around the world moving, and we are not the same nation as we once were. The world is constantly changing, evolving. However, just because the world is changing, doesn't mean we can expect everyone else to change, and that's probably the biggest lesson that this summer has taught me.