To my 18-year-old self…

A few years ago, I came across a cool panoramic photo that was taken my freshman year of college.  It was a pre-game of my teammates and I lined up down the 3^rd baseline in front of our dugout. I had posted it on FB and tagged a few of my teammates.  Yesterday, it came up in my memories feed (thanks FB) as well as on one of my friend’s pages.  As I sat there looking at the photo, an influx of thoughts came to my mind.  

First and foremost, THAT HAIR! What kind of friends did I have that would encourage that haircut. 😊 After the initial shock of that, I started thinking about that group of friends… man what a crew. From study hall hours, to Thursday nights’ out… hours upon hours of time spent analyzing music lyrics, hanging out, finding our way. They were the perfect group of people to come into my life at that time and I often think back to those days with such fond memories. I wonder what life would be like for me had I never met that crew. And I wonder who would play them in my coming of age movie?!? HA just kidding. 

I look at that photograph, and I think about how different things were back then. I look down that line at each individual and I wonder how they are and where life has taken them. It’s crazy how many memories come to mind when I look at this image. Thanks to social media, I still get to follow some of their stories, see where their roads have led, and I can’t help but smile at the lives they have created for themselves. But man, how time has changed things.

There has been a lot of growing up since this picture was taken. Somehow, we managed to become adults (over-rated if you ask me). The days of 5 am work outs, two-a-days, classes, socializing and 2 am trips to the diner for turkey soup got replaced with real life ‘adulting.’ I like to think all the former was great preparation for the latter! 

Growing up being involved in sports opened many doors for me and I met some truly awesome people along the way, but there will always be something incredibly special about this group. I am very fortunate for the time (however brief) that I was a part of this line up.  The memories that were made and the influence that time had over my life was invaluable.  One of my biggest regrets looking back was walking away when I did because I am sure there would have been a lot more incredible memories with this crew. 

There is that cliché idea of looking back, you know the ‘if you could tell your 18-year-old self one thing, what would it be…’ looking at this picture I think my advice to my 18-year-old self would be to cherish it, every moment of it-the good, the not so good, everything.  Life takes you in different directions, it changes you, and it does not slow down. So, look around, smell the fresh cut grass, hang on to the moments and the memories… oh AND DON’T EVER CUT YOUR HAIR LIKE THAT AGAIN!