The End of an Era....and Start of a New Adventure!

As my teenagehood is quickly coming to an end, I have been thinking a lot about the past seven years. What has changed, what is the same, so on and so forth. In some ways my life is exactly the same. I live in the same house, with the same family, the same dog, (almost) the same neighbors, the same best friends, the same church, etc. The list could go on forever. Of course a lot has changed too.
In honour of surviving teenagehood (24 hours from writing this, it will be official) I have decided to highlight each year.

13
Okay, everyone says being a teenager is hard. I found this out pretty quickly after turning thirteen. I spent my first week at a summer camp with my best friend, which was awesome. Not long after we got home we went to co-op with a ton of our friends and our current circle of friends started. It was the best and hardest year of my life. I was an eighth grader doing high school work and trying to keep up with the older kids. I figured out I was dyslexic, though my parents already knew, it was a shock to me. All of my relationships were put through fire, and the ones that survived are now my closest and dearest friends. At the end of the crazy year, I went to Alaska and lived with my grandparents, aunt, uncle, and three cousins for a month. What an amazing experience that was! I also got to go to my first official formal that year. Oh yeah, and it wouldn't be complete teenage drama without adding in that I developed my first serious crush that year.

14
Being fourteen wasn't all that different from being thirteen. There was still the friend drama, the boy drama, and school. But to add into the mix, I also had a full-time job. I was officially a babysitter for my little Isabella (Izzy at the time). She made life chaotic as I didn't really remember having that small of a child in the house since...well...me. (To be fair, there were smaller children in our house growing up, but the age difference was within two years of me, so they didn't seem that little.) Izzy added a whole new dynamic into my life that I would never ever change. Another huge change in my life that year was it was my first year to attend Worldview Academy. I accepted my faith as my own and became way more confident than I had ever been. Life did a 360 on me that summer and I didn't even realize it.

15
Not a lot to note from this year. Nothing amazing happened. I had my regular school, Isabella (who at this point went by Bella), and piano. Something to note is that I experience my first heartbreak that summer. Other than that, life was pretty ordinary. My friends were all the same, school was the same. Life went on as normal. Also, I attended Worldview for my second year, this time by choice. :D

16
Most people would think this is a pretty big year.  16! (Also my golden birthday) My friends threw a huge surprise party for me and it was a blast! (Technically I was still 15 when that happened, but whatever.) I finished all of my homeschool requirements except one class (math. surprise, surprise.) I took CLEP tests for school and worked hard to get over testing anxiety, which almost worked. I had Bella more (hey! who knew?) and enjoyed every second of it. I attended Worldview Academy for my last year as a student and was roommates with my best friend and twin. I also had the best small group in all existence that year.

17
I started dance again, including tap, ballet, and pointe. I also started learning guitar, completed my last year of piano lessons, watched Bella, and took a much needed year off from traditional school. That summer I officially graduated high school (!!!!) as well as interned at Worldview Academy, which started an amazing relationship with one of my "little sisters." :)

18
I got my driver's permit, which I was only mildly happy about at the time, and took driver's ed online while my dad taught me behind the wheel. Sadly, it was my last year with Isabella coming to my house everyday. It made it hard, but I taught her kindergarten and started to prepare her for first grade. I had to change dance studios, as the one I was at closed, and began dancing with a new group of girls and a new set of teachers. I also got to do my first solo in ballet, which made me incredibly happy! That summer, I didn't go to Worldview as a student, but did go to last lecture, which was extremely hard, but I think needed for me to see that it was time to move on. However, I did go to Summit Summer conference in Tennessee and fell in love with it! Everything was amazing and it challenged me more than ever before. I also became a member at my church.

19
Well...what to say? I started working with two new families for babysitting, danced my last year at a traditional dance school, got my driver's license, went to Apple Butter Day for the first time (!), was accepted to Summit Semester for this fall, and learned how to grow up a little bit more.

Overall, God has blessed me with an incredible life. These past years have stretched me and grown me into more and more of who God wants me to be and has pushed everything I'm comfortable to the limits, if not entirely beyond. I know there is another new and exciting adventure ahead and I cannot wait to see what God does in my life. Even though the past seven years have been hard and full of turmoil and stress, it has also been full of joy and laughter and friendships that can never be shaken.