I have to admit, I really enjoy Snapchat’s feature that allows you to see “memories” from a specific day in years past. Each morning I am able to see photos and videos from a year, two years, or three years before, and often times it brings me right back to that moment and has me in shock because it doesn’t feel like that long at all has passed since then. Now that we are in the spring semester, I’ve been seeing a lot of memories from my time in Los Angeles last spring semester, and I’ve really been reflecting on the notion that so much can change in just one year.
Just one year ago, I had recently begun my west coast adventure, and I was so excited but so lost at the same time. Of course, my social media only reflected the best of times, and my texts and phone calls to my friends at home were full of optimism and ambition rather than the difficulties of being transplanted to an environment that was entirely unfamiliar to me. On my first day of work at my internship, I remember posting a bunch of photos showing how cool my office looked, but I also remember coming home and crying to my mom on the phone because of how far away I felt and how overwhelming everything was just on day one.
There were plenty of hard times but there were plenty of good times, and I’m thankful that these “one year ago” memories are only the times full of fun that I wanted to remember. It makes me realize so much how true the sentiment is that when you look back at something, it’s so much easier to remember the good things than the bad things. Think of it like a break-up: when someone ends a relationship with you, you often find yourself upset and pining over the things that you miss, rather than focusing on the things that were wrong. Knowing that this is what I am doing whenever I look at pictures from Los Angeles, I try to tell myself that – even whenever I say I would love to be back in the warm weather – I already had that incredible experience, and right now, I am where I am supposed to be.
After I came back from Los Angeles, I spent my summer in New York, went on vacations with my family, had a semester back in State College, experienced a relaxing winter break, and now I’m back for my final semester here. Just one year ago I had no idea of the changes and growth that I would go through to get me to the point that I am right now. I had no idea which friendships would form and which would decay. I didn’t know what my final year would bring at Penn State, and in many ways, I still don’t know what’s to come. All I can be certain of is the fact that in one year, I will look back at this blog post with a year full of new experiences that will change me and mold me and make me the person that I am constantly on my way to becoming.
