The journey

 "Take pride in how far you've come. Have faith in how far you can go. But don't forget the journey." -Michael Josephson

These days, it is so easy to get consumed in what I must do next, what I must do in the future, to the point where it's easy to forget how far I've come. While high school was not the smoothest of years and looking back on it, I've identified things I would have done differently, I must still remember the journey. The ups and the downs. The lessons I learned. The people I met and the friendships I've built. To be honest, it's one of those things that I could just allow to slip out the back of the mind or it's an experience I can cherish and build upon. It's been almost two weeks since I've graduated and this reality is hitting me: how I want to store my high school years in my memory is up to me. At this thought, I'm reminded greatly of the movie Inside Out where each experience that Riley undergoes is stored as a memory that lives in different parts of her brain. There are a few "core" memories. Others rest in the forefront of her mind. There's also a library of her old memories, and of course, there's the collection of memories that have been permanently erased from Riley's mind. I wonder where I will put each of the memories that compose my high school career in my mind. While the natural phenomenon of time results in the fading of most memories into the "back of my mind" type, as Josephson suggests, I think it's important that I advertently hold on to some moments of my high school experience. Two weeks into my shortest summer vacation yet, it's really just hitting me that I'm moving on in life, that I've reached a new milestone. And as I've been trying to do all along with this blog, it's important to cherish the journey.