I remember playing on the playground with my friends during recess and talking about anything that came to our minds. Everything was so simple then. No responsibilities and no cares in the world. If only I could go back to then. Everyone was in a better state of mind. 

Sometimes I think about the first day I went to highschool. Weirdly enough that seems like yesterday. I was so extremely nervous I barely slept the night before. I was dreading it. It was exhilarating to go to a class of 40 kids to a class of 500. What a dramatic change. I was relieved afIter that day. I didn’t even get lost at school, like I thought I would. All the teachers were so welcoming and sweet. Maybe not my classmates at first, but people came around. 

I recall the first college I got accepted to. I didn’t even know if that was where I would end up going or attending, but it made everything worth it. Every year of highschool. From the tears that rolled down my cheeks as I did my math homework. The stress and frustration that came with highschool. To feel that moment of accomplishment. Everything was worth it for that moment. 

I wish I could forget that day I saw my best friend crash my family's ATV directly into a tree. Her and I were up north for memorial day weekend. She drove straight into a tree. I saw her body fly into the road and the ATV get totally wrecked from the crash. For a while that day just played over and over in my mind. It truly made me sick to my stomach.  Luckily, she was okay. It taught me how precious life was. It can be over in a blink of an eye. 

I will never forget all three of my cousins' weddings I went to in the past year. All different, but all uniquely wonderful. There is something tremendously beautiful about seeing a couple get married. Welcoming someone new into the Aicher Family. Seeing the joy that filled Grandma’s face as she saw her granddaughter walk down the aisle. A wedding makes you feel the presence of how important your family is to you.

I forever hold onto the times where my friends and I drive pointlessly for hours into the night. What else is there really to do in Wisconsin.  We have no sense of direction. No agenda. We are fulfilled with the idea of that. We blast music until it shatters our eardrums.  Sad music, rap, country, anything you can imagine. We talk about anything and everything. The highschool boys who treated us like garbage. Our parents who really can get on our nerves. How excited we are to graduate. Those nights, all our problems in the world fade away. I live for those nights.