"These are the best years of your life...."

Don't you feel like you hear that every time you start a new chapter in your life. Whether it's middle school, high school, college, or the job you start when you graduate; without a doubt you will hear those words from someone at some point.

When it's first said to you, all of a sudden a rush of images flood your mind. It's like a scene from the movies, and you see this exciting path being lit up with you as the star. A huge smile covers your face, and you can't wait to jump into the next exciting door that is apparently about to open into the "best years of your life".

Then middle school is over. Sure it was fun... but the best years?

Suddenly you're being shuffled between tall moving bodies in the halls of your high school. It's scary and foreign. Everything looks and smells different. Everyone talks about new things. People fill sentences with words you've only heard in movies. The lanky boys you had grown up with are replaced with huge football players with arms the size of both your legs combined. You feel tiny and grasp the loose ends of your pristine new backpack, as you attempt to weave yourself through the maze of your campus. Four years pass and before you know it you're friends with the quarterback, you're a pro when it comes to topics including the words SAT, alliteration, isotopes, thermocline, homecoming and pirouette; you can assist newcomers around campus, and have come to love the smell of each classroom, your backpack is now a canvas shoulder bag, and you only feel more at home, when you're actually home.

Next up is college. Oh you feel comfortable and stable? Well that's nice, now you're going to start over. Yep that means new friends, new room, new campus, and even a new city. But don't forget....these are the best years. You're living on top of someone else, campus covers at least a mile, everything is 20 times more competitive, people have odd rituals in the hopes of finding a group of friends to fill the free time, and the only thing more important than passing your test Friday is beer. The scenes in every cliche teen movie come to life right in front of you and you feel just like you did four years ago when you were holding onto your backpack, except this time it's a red Solo cup. Last year you didn't have a second to breathe between every SGA meeting, dance rehearsal, drama audition, hostess job, and pounds of homework from each teacher. Now there's free time to fill with naps, a netflix account, facebook, cooking sprees with the roommates, dancing at a different bar, and then going to class and the occasional group meeting. It's some strange limbo between being a kid and a responsible adult. Two years pass, you're half way through and it's been rough. You've seen things you never wanted to know about, you've been hurt in ways you never wanted to feel, you've learned amazing and sometimes boring things in endless classes, and you've lived with people you know are your new family. It's mostly humorous to think about and you wonder again.... really? best years of my life?

As I look back through pictures from my past, or read different essays I've written, even journals, it's crazy to remember everything I have experienced. I really can't pinpoint what time was the "best". I can however pinpoint certain moments in those years that were the best. The homecoming I planned from the ground up, the dace routines I put together, the audition I rocked, the hardest test of my life that I got a B+ on, the surprises from the guy i loved, the homemade cookies during a tough week, the night out with my best friends, the song we knew every word to, the trip to Greece, the nights in bed with ice cream and blockbuster, the nights spent tangled up in someone else's arms and legs, the days with sand between my toes, the days filled with sun, sharing breakfast at 2 a.m. with your soulmate/roommate..... those are what make up the "best years of your life". Every day you are living the best years, even on your worst day.