The last time a decade ended, I was still bright eyed and bushy tailed. I didn’t know the harsh realities of finals week, the internal struggle of deciding whether or not to go to an 8 AM class, the uncertainty of the future. I lifted my glass of sparkling apple cider and toasted the new decade without a care in the world.
In the past decade, I’ve gone through the turmoil of middle school, graduated high school, and made it halfway through the constant mess that is college. Looking back, I find it equally as easy to remember the good things as it is the bad. There were weddings and there were funerals. All the Harry Potter movies came out. I cried over math tests and laughed with my best friends. My brother moved out, and then I did.
I travelled the country some days and stayed home other nights with a tub of ice cream crying over boys with my roommate. I chopped all my hair off, then let it grow out, and then chopped it off again. I started drinking copious amounts of black coffee. All of these little moments over the past decade are what define who I am. The future is uncertain, but I can remember being 11 years old and having no idea where life would take me, being absolutely terrified. Things have worked out for me so far, and I encourage you to raise a glass of sparkling apple cider, and run into the new decade with open arms.