Growing up

Last night, as I sat surrounded by 5 of my best friends from college, I found myself evaluating what we've been through, where we've all come from, and where we've all ended up. Growing up is difficult, because along with age comes a loss of innocence. We eventually realize that the world isn't really as wonderful and simple as it was when we were children. We realize that after school, work becomes your life. We experience SO much. We love, we lose, we makes mistakes, we hopefully learn from those mistakes, we change, we grow, some friends come and go, unfortunately, and we learn that only our closest will survive our life experiences and be there with us until the end.

I thought back to where I was in my life when I met these women. 18 years old, college, parties, sororities, classes, dorms. My social life MADE me. Life has changed so much since then. We are all career-oriented women. Some of us married, some of us starting families, buying homes, moving in with significant others, making livings and establishing ourselves. Yet when we talk, its as if nothing has changed in these 5 + years that we have been friends. I feel blessed to have this group of friends, as well as the other close friends that I am lucky enough to still have strong relationships with. These women have laughed with me, cried with me, grown with me, held my hands, held my head when I've cried, and given me pep-talks when I've felt down. I've also learned that although I don't speak with these women on a daily basis as much as I'd like to, I always feel at home with them. These women are part of me and if there's anything that I've learned from growing up, its the importance of holding these people close and never letting them go.