Learning to Live

Everything happens for a reason, right? I know people say this a lot, but can it really be true? Does everything actually happen for a reason? Even though we often can't see these reasons, in the big picture, everything that happens to us leads us to where we are now. Although we might not understand these reasons immediately, we can still take something away from whatever comes at us. We should embrace every experience we have as a chance to learn something. It could be about yourself or something much, much bigger than that, but either way, you should constantly be learning- even if it seems impossible. Lately I've been forced to reflect on some things I've said and done in the past. I've been leaning a lot on the awesome people around me and the belief that there is some deeper meaning to all of this. A popular Marilyn Monroe quote sums this up pretty well: " I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, t...

When I left for college I was excited and terrified at the same time. Excited for the future and to get away from Princeton (as much as I love it), but also terrified of the future and what it had in store for me. I wasn't sure I could handle being away from my parents and deal with the pressure of putting myself out there and making new friends. But the thing that scared me the most was leaving my old friends behind. I tried really hard at the beginning to stay in touch with everyone, but as time went on we talked less and less. Of course there are the special ones I still talk with on a regular basis, but for the most part, a lot of my high school relationships have faded away. I detested this last year. I hated the friends that were off having the time of their life, while I was stuck hating mine and trying to force a friendship. But like I said, as time went on, keeping in contact with these friends became less and less important to me. I'm thankful for the friends I stil...