QUOTE OF THE WEEK

..Finally, originally uploaded by Nas _.

"Count to ten... Take it in. This is life before you know who you're gonna be."

-Taylor Swift, FIFTEEN

In the past couple of weeks and the days to come, including as I type this right now to all of you, many Girls in the Hall around the country are putting on caps and gowns getting ready to grab that coveted diploma from the Principal's hands. It is the end of the school year. As we dream of this day coming, we all envision the grandeur of what being a high school graduate on the other side will feel like. The freedom of the future shines as a bright spot manifested in this piece of paper called a diploma. We wonder... Where will we be in five years, ten years and beyond? What career path will we carve out for ourselves? Who will we marry? What parts of the world will we explore? What signature will we stamp on the world?

Mostly, our minds drift to the overall question that encompasses all of the details that will comprise our future--"who are we gonna be?" We meander through different phases--All in the span of my year of being fifteen, I know I went through a flannel wearing phase of Kurt Cobain obsession (Me: Mom, can I dye my hair black with cool aid? Mom: Absolutely not!), an attempt at embodying the ultimate tennis champ (I even got a purple racket for my bday, that ended up being donated after gather dust in my closet months after), and a dabble with getting into technology with being VP of the tech club (today, I freak out when my iphone doesn't turn on and am usually told it was because I let the battery die). There are probably many more identities that I tried on in the metaphorical dressing room of high school that year. What I did I find out? The answer is that, I am still all of them--that alternative music loving, clumsy wannabe jock, technology interested (though challenged) girl.

The funny thing is, I always thought that one day my identity would just emerge, after I had left the halls of school. The glorious joke of discovery is on me. I still am finding out, every day, who I am. Last year, I wrote a book, started a jewelry business for fun and allowed my hair stylist to give me bangs after swearing them away when I was, you guessed it, fifteen.

I am set in my beliefs of leading my life with kindness and an open mind. These are things that I value, and have always valued, to my core of being. As for the rest of it, I will spend every day of my life happily discovering what makes up who I am while figuring out how to take it all in. I wouldn't have it any other way. So, Girls in the Hall graduating now, congrats and best wishes for a lifetime of learning who you are gonna be.