One Year Older and Wiser Too

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Well, one year ago was Prom. Still one of the best days of my life, hands down.

I tend to think of that day as a turning point in my life. The day my life officially changed, if you will. Because, well, it was. My life was extremely different after Prom.

I was thinking about it this weekend, and found myself asking, "is it weird that I still remember Prom, vividly, and think about it and still refer to it as the best day of my life, even though it was now one year ago?" From what I've been able to tell, most of my other friends...don't. It was just a fun date, and that's that.

Is it ridiculous that, after all this time, if I could relive one day in my life, it would be Prom? Yeah, it's pretty ridiculous. But here's how I justify that.

As I look back on the past year, Prom really was the last day of my official fun carefree childhood. After Prom, life wasn't simple and easy like it had been before. My life took a turn down a very bumpy, rocky road, and it has been ever since. Not that life hasn't been fun, because it has. But I've felt more like an adult than ever before. I've had to make some pretty grown up decisions. Like going to college. That was kind of a pretty grown up thing, right?

I've also had to deal with some pretty hard things. While life before Prom wasn't perfect, it certainly was a breeze compared to how my life is now.

So now the question is, would I consider that my life has improved since Prom?

Remember good, better and best?

Before Prom, my life was good. My life was very good. But all of the trials I went through after Prom were basically a refiner's fire. So my life is certainly much more difficult than it was before Prom, but the lessons I've learned since then have, I think, I hope...made me into a better person.

My heart is kind of breaking a little bit now as I'm writing this, so if this starts to not make any sense...you can just stop reading. I won't be offended. I won't even know!

Often, I have looked back on that previous life and wish for that carefree, easy bliss more than anything.

But life isn't supposed to be easy. And I wouldn't trade the lessons I've learned for anything in the world.

And let's be honest, I'm going to move out and be at BYU in a few months, so there's no way that my life is going to get easier. But the lessons I've learned in the past year are going to help me endure that trial. (Not that I think I'm going to hate living in the dorms and going to BYU. I'm actually completely stoked). And then the lessons I learn from living at BYU are going to help me in the next series of trials I endure. Ever since Prom it's like an explosion of learning has happened in my life. I don't know how to explain it, so here is a picture. I hope Sweetwood appreciates this beautifully crafted graph.

I'm not saying that Prom was where I learned a lot of great life lessons, it was basically just what happened at Prom that led to different things happening that caused me to learn lots of life lessons...yeah. The only lessons I learned at Prom were...never mind.

The point is, life hasn't been easy, but every trial, every heartbreak, every dumb thing that has happened has helped me grow significantly.

So Prom, here's to you. Thanks for a great day, and for quite an eventful year.

No regrets!

Love,
Kaela