I don't really know what I'm supposed to say. I don't know how to leave an impression on anyone that I know exactly what I'm trying to say. I don't even know why I'm here. I honestly don't know why I do a lot of things lately. I bet you find that too. Peer pressure, fitting in, and being cool. All things we give into at some point in our lives. It's because we don't think, we just do. We don't take a step back and process because everything these days are so instant. 1000 pictures in one burst, dinner in minutes, new friends with a click of a button…there is something you need to do right now like turn in late assignments or finish your chem homework or remember to call your grandma. You have to know how you feel about everything, you can't be unsure or confused, or change your mind. There's no time to figure out who you are or where you belong. For seniors graduating…all the essays and due dates. Making sure you like your roommate and are going into a major you could see yourself in in 30 years. It's so much growing up and things you have to know right now. But growth is patient and takes time. Now I will follow that up with a question…. Have you ever seen a tree grow? Well of course not. I haven’t. Nobody has. I mean it's nearly impossible to wait for anything that takes that long unless you have 25 years to spare. But if you did, it would change you. It would slow you down and remind you that real things take time. Think about that. It's almost magic. I mean so are 1000 photographs in one burst but a tree. You plant a seed in the ground and an entire new world develops and stretches out and opens up. A family of birds neighbors a lonely squirrel searching for food. It's easy to get lost when we are moving so fast, and to think we are doing the right thing when really we are not, but if we are patient, take a step back, and inhale a gulp of fresh air in our lungs and breathe, just breathe….we may be able to regain our balance. Growing is patient and takes time, and it's long and painful physically and mentally. The growing pains you had when you were nine, grew into the pain you felt when you received the call that your best friend had died. The pain of breaking your foot became the pain of having your heart broken. It takes time to heal, but you heal, and while you heal, you grow. While you grow, you change. It can be positive too. It can be getting out of an abusive relationship, finally moving out of the house and becoming your own person, or letting go of what was holding you back even though there's comfort there. And that's just it. Change is inevitable and it follows you like your shadow on a sunny day. You have a choice in life. You can either greet your shadow and shake its hand or keep hiding in the dark hoping it goes away. Whether it's good, uncomfortable, shocking, or painful, it changes. We all think we don't need it. It's kinda like the random penny in your car. One day you might be at a store where what you were getting costs you $20 and 1 cent. Pretty useful now huh?  At the end of the day, you need to remember that life is passing you by, and that’s okay. You won’t be invited to every party, or every sleepover. That boy you like may or may not ask you out. You aren't going to get every job you apply for and you will not ace your first college exam. But you must know that what is for you can’t miss you. Growth is patient and takes time. Real things take time. So the next time that you see a tree sticking up out of the ground just remember what part of what makes it so beautiful is how long it took to grow.