This is my life!

Like a lightning bolt, I jerk awake.  The funny thing is that I was awake all day long.  Sometimes I realize that this is my life, and I have the privilege to live it.  I can be whomever I want to be.  

The irony of being 18.  You are the oldest at your school.  People look up to you, and you're supposed to have the answers.  You feel powerful, and you drink in that power.  You've waited for this feeling for a long time.  

Then I have moments like right now.  I am so small.  So little.  So indescribably young.  I haven't made any decisions yet.  I have my whole life ahead of me.  

That is an empowering feeling, when you finally bolt awake.  When you realize that you haven't done anything with your life.  You have a lifetime to build whatever you want.  I can make as many plans, lists, and goals as I absolutely want.  A blank canvas.  

It's a beautifully freeing feeling.  

I look at this picture of me being so young.  Kindergarten maybe?  She's excited for life and she doesn't even know the little voice exists.  

And then I look at this picture, taken this fall.  I look beautiful and excited and empowered.  It's a privilege for me to look at these pictures and see how much my eyes still look the same.  

I'm excited to start constructing the life I always dreamed of. 

xo. Elise