Time of Change

I am beginning my senior year of high school. I expected another year of stability before my entire world turned upside down and I went far away to college and to see the world with my own eyes. I have been in a state of anticipation waiting for the moment that it would feel like I grew up. I wanted to feel the world shift beneath my feet, maybe a tingle run down my spine. I expected something magical. In all this excitement, the real world crept up on me. It tapped me on the shoulder and whispered, "I'm here". I barely noticed. But now, when I look around the world isn't what it was a few weeks ago.
I noticed how much more confident I've become. I've given myself the permission to start living and I have lived. I've decided not to live the rest of my life the way I did in high school. I decided I didn't have to wait until I got out of high school to change this. I am going to carry myself a little higher. I'm going to learn that love starts with your own heart. I've also noticed how everyone else treats me. I feel respected in my classes a lot more. It's no longer classmates pitting against each other, we're all slowly growing up. We've learned to tolerate each other. We've learned to be kind and it shows. I hear the eighth-grade bullies compliment someone having a harder time than them. My peers have learned to love, even if they aren't all the way there yet. My teachers also treat me like I am someone growing, rather than someone they must shape. I am given a lot more freedom to learn in a way that promotes growth, rather than overbearing teachers that stunt it. I am being surrounded by positivity and excitement.
I feel like senior year is going to be a good one. I didn't see it coming,  but it managed to sneak up on me and change everything. I am growing in ways I didn't know I could and the world is shaping around me. I'm ready for the future and it is coming.