Growing up sucks. A lot.

I’m known to look too far ahead into the future.

I’m an overly sentimental, cry your eyes out over the beauty of life kind of person. That’s just who I am.

It could be from sticking my nose in books where the protagonist is just as romantic about life as I am, thinking about how some seeds will grow into saplings and then sturdy hundred year old leafy pillars.

And I like to think of people in that way too.

I can be sarcastic and skeptical, but I love loving things. I love loving people.

And today, I said goodbye to some of my favorite people on this planet.

It’s dumb because they’re seniors, not dearly departed. But going from seeing someone every day to maybe once a year is a devastating change, and as someone with a horrific attachment style, I’m not boding well.

It’s amazing to see these people grow and move on, it fills me with a sense of pride I didn’t know my heart could produce. 

Meeting these people has turned me into the kind of person I always denied being—the kind of person who says I love you over and over until my mouth can’t form the words—even if maybe deep down it’s who I was all along.

Maybe it’s okay that I’m that kind of person. My friends from all walks of life growing up around me have forced me to grow into the person who’s gonna yell hysterically at their graduations, and that’s not so bad.

Growing up sucks. A lot. But it might be okay, as long as you’re willing to let it be.

P.S. cherish your friends. See you next year.