Who Can Say If I've Been Changed for the Better, but Because I Knew You I Have Been Changed for Good

Some people come into our lives and quickly go. 

Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts and we are never the same.

Today I closed one chapter in the book of my life. I left Drake behind, the school, the friends, and the memories. I knew it would be hard to leave but it was way harder than I thought it would be. Today I realized that I was not only leaving my new best friends, I was leaving my family. Though we always joke about our litte family, that is what we've become. We have each other's backs and have shared so many memories. Last night was by far one of the best nights with them. Sneaking our mattresses into one room and then just talking for hours was the perfect last night. Even through the petty drama frequently finds its way into our lives, I have come to love each and every one of my new friends and it is so difficult to leave that behind. I believe that everything in life happens for a reason and that the reason I went to Drake was to meet people who will always be a part of me. I know that realistically I won't stay in close contact with them but I know that I have left a little part of myself there, which was immediately filled with a little piece of them that I will carry with me. Even though they were only in my life for a little while and I know that I need to move on, they have made an imprint on my life that, though it may fade, will remain forever.

Almost Goodbye

With only one final left, it has begun to hit me that tomorrow I will be leaving Des Moines and not coming back. I have to leave somewhere I have lived for almost four months, pack my things, and say goodbye to friends. I cannot say that I haven't made friends here but I still can't call it home. Yes, Drake is somewhere I have made friends and gone to school but it isn't home. Home is still in Duluth with old friends and family. Yet as much as I can't wait to drive home tomorrow, I also can't wait to go to Luther and make a new home. It blows my mind that some of my friends here want to stay here longer rather than going back home. I wish I could be one of those people but I can't here. Hopefully with a new year and new beginnings things will change for the better. While I have been away, realizing who I am, I have also found out who my real friends are. I know who I truly want to spend time with when I get home and who I will see just to have a good time. My best friends have stayed the same and now I know that our friendship will remain despite all the miles in between us. Through the trials of this semester I now have a better understanding of myself and what I am capable of. I know that I can say no and stay true to my morals. I have discovered what kind of people that i want in my life. It will be interesting to be home for a few weeks and see if things have changed. It is my hope that things are only changing for the better.

Two Roads...

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

As the end of the semester comes even closer, I can't believe how fast it has gone by. I have made many friends and even more memories. I know it will be very bittersweet leaving Drake with some inevitable tears yet I know in my heart that I am making the right decision. I need to take the path less traveled by. In just 23 short days I will be going back to school, but starting fresh. I will be able to be, again, whom ever I want to be. I know I will miss the friends I have made but I just can't stay. Whenever someone asks me why I'm leaving, which I've been asked countless times, I'm not quite sure how to reply. It's something that no one else can understand. I need to be somewhere where I am truly joyful. I know being happy 24/7 just isn't realistic but here I am sinking deeper into a hole and I didn't know how to get out until recently. Transferring feels like my only option to being truly happy and satisfied with my life. I know that I could stay at Drake and survive. But I don't want to simply survive, I want to love every minute of my life since you can never know what tomorrow will bring.