Sipping tea, realizing I am sitting across from the younger me; I am now the grown up.

I am slowly becoming self-aware of growing up, particularly at a moment this week, as I was sitting at a local coffee shop in Downtown Saginaw meeting with the future Chamber intern and it hit me, this was me six years ago.

The passion, energy and excitement was radiating from both of us, in our own separate ways and for different but ironically the same reasons. We both felt the energy of Downtown Saginaw, both born and raised here; equally as ready and willing to make a difference. I am the person I looked up during valuable and countless informational interviews and job shadows.

The saying “time flies” is an understatement, it flies at rocket speed. I remember thinking in high school, within the halls of Nouvel Catholic Central, that time went by fast, but then all of a sudden I am half-way through my time at CMU, juggling the advertising department of the campus newspaper and attempting to make every social gathering possible. And then it’s May 9^th, 2015 and I become a college graduate. Chicago and back, and now its March of 2017, I am in my second job, in my hometown and having the time of my life; bouncing between networking events and early morning meetings, not really sure what happened to the past eight years and how I got here.

This means it is all the more important to savor every single moment, cause before you know it you’re living in the 3^rd month of 2017 and all you have left is memories and your Instagram account to remind you how your life happened. I get to thinking on these memories and believe I must have done something right to now be the mentor to a girl I once was, full of energy to prepared to learn everything possible during a summer at home. It gives me great joy to enlist that feeling in her and provide resources to make the most of her summer.

I take great privilege in the experience and opportunity to mentor as I once was. The time that does fly by is valuable time, hard work is worth it and it has got me here. At the time, working 40 hour a week in college was only sometimes not ideal but it made heck of a difference. The mentors and role model through that job where life changing. To my younger self, cherish the moments, strive to become a mentor and document the journey.

Be your best beautiful self, cherishing the memories.