Wow! It's been a good three years since I've submitted anything! I am now a freshman in college, studying Studio Art to become an Art Therapist. So much has changed since I wrote on here last; I've changed into someone else entirely.

Some of that just comes with time; some with pain. I've lost my grandpa: one of the best men in my life. I've lost friends, my brother and his family moved across the country, and I'm pretty sure my parents are going to split up.

But I've grown, too. I know I can handle just about anything. I know I AM important. I have my own voice, and thought not many know what I sound like, it's okay. 

My life has changed before my eyes. I've found out who is really there for me;had family disown me, through no fault of my own, became closer to one of my cousins, who is one of the best people I know. I have two nieces from my brother, one from my sister, and want (SOMEDAY, not now) children of my own.

I hurt, I have depression and OCD. But I smile, too. I have wonderful friends and family, and at the moment, a wonderful boyfriend. He accepts my faults, and for that, I'm forever grateful.

I'm closer to my mom than I've ever been, and I love it. I hate how things between her and my father are, but that's a whole other story. I'm learning that if nothing else in this world goes my way, she will always provide me with the love, guidance, and yes, even punishments I deserve. I'm not perfect, nor is she, but she is the best woman and role model I know. I hope to be a woman and mother like her someday.

If anything, these last few years, as I've become an adult, (legally at least) it's that life has it's ups and downs. You lose people, either by just life, or by death. But you can and will get through it. You change, constantly. And sometimes it's for the good and sometimes it isn't. But no matter what happens, you are going through what you are to become who you are meant to be. And what else could you want?