Times Have A-Changed

I saw an ad this morning on Facebook with regard to the movie, You Again, coming out Sept. 24.  It was for a quiz, asking how you've changed since high school.  If I were to answer that question, it would take a while.  I can't believe how much I've changed since high school!

1. First and most shallowly, I was thinner.  I thought I was kind of big back then but now I have actually gained weight and I hate it.
2. My religious beliefs have changed somewhat drastically.  That may sound oxymoronic, but the foundation of my beliefs are the same; some of the "minor" things have changed absolutely.
3. I view time management and spending money completely differently from the way I did back then.
4. I thought I knew what it meant to take care of someone else.  I thought I knew everything.
5. I never thought I'd move from my hometown.  In fact, I had just planned not to.  Now I live 4 hours away.
6. I hadn't found my sense of humor yet.
7. I got mad and frustrated much easier.
8. I didn't have a digital camera.  Much less an awesome DSLR.
9. Something that didn't change: I'm still with the same guy. :)
10. I planned my time around football games and TV shows, not classes, tests, and cultural events like in college.
11. I had bangs.
12. I did NOT have a sense of style.  At all.
13. I had my entire life planned out.  None of that shit happened.

I guess the point is that I'm a completely different person from who I was in high school.  But, sometimes I wish I was that person again.  I'd give anything to not go through a couple of specific things that happened after high school.  I'd love to have the same schedule everyday and not be responsible for rent or groceries or a clean apartment.  I'd love if it if my mom still took care of me.  And most of all, I'd love to still be naive to some things.

But I'm not that person.  I'm not a 17-year-old little girl anymore.  I'm a college graduate, a few months away from being a wife, an adult, and I'm responsible for myself, and sometimes not for myself.  The fact is, high school is just memories.  Some memories I'll always treasure and some memories I only remember to remind myself not to do it again.  I miss the simplicity of high school, but I wouldn't trade it for the freedom of adulthood.  Not having a job sucks, and sometimes  I'd give just about anything to be back in high school with a cute boyfriend, seeing all my friends between classes in the hall, and having a routine planned out for me.  But I can't.  I've accepted that.  And when I think of all the things I hated in high school, I would never wish it upon myself to go back.

That's the beauty of being an adult.  You're old enough to learn from your past mistakes but young enough to not care if you screw up a couple more times.  And you know the difference.  I guess it's like Dylan said, "You'd better swim fast or you'll sink like a stone, for the times, they are a-changing."  The times have a-changed, and they'll continue to do so, but I wouldn't trade my life for anything.  To me, it's perfect.