Growth

As a freshman in college, I had such an amazing time grasping onto many opportunities that came my way to try new things, surround myself with new people, understand unknown perspectives to me, and live a different lifestyle.

I remember I took an afternoon to go to Aldrich Park to lay down and listen to music by myself. I really took the time to think about things I wanted to achieve at this university and how I could aline some of those goals with my personal growth. In this time of my life, my mother would call me often because she was worried about me. I noticed that I started giving a lot less of my time to the places and people that I grew up with. There was something about those phone calls that always left me feeling uneasy. I think for someone who has provided and continues to provide so much for me, my mother made me realize that I may have been abandoning what I called home for some years.

Even though my family and friends are in my thoughts pretty often, the minimal communication and my absence may have left them to feel neglected and forgotten. I perceive life as we're all on our own self embarking journey to discover ourselves and we're learning how to live by new experiences to grow. However, in the progress I was making as an individual, but I didn't favor the way I was treating my loved ones. To make things better, I started reaching out more and expressing my appreciation for who my loved ones are and the role they play in my life. In time, I rekindled many relationships and created stronger bonds.

I wish I had realized earlier or had a friend who could tell me that in the midst of the busyness, remind yourself of what is important to you, and make sure to spend some time and energy on that area of your life.

On another note, put faith and trust in yourself that you're making progress to get to where you want to be. In times where you're not confident or acknowledge that you might need some help, don't be afraid to reach out to others because it can benefit you in surprising ways like through knowledge, experiences, and friendships.