Growing Up

 Life was simple. My favorite part of my outfit was the matching socks and hairband. We made traps to catch leprechauns and played Truth or Dare around the swamp. We planted a moss garden behind the kickball fence. I drew comics, wrote stories, and told everyone about my crazy dreams. That was my life.

(Oh, and just to warn you... if you aren't interested in seeing a bunch of pictures, you might want to stop looking at this post about now.)

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Gahhh. :P

I was a child. Not afraid to get dirty, afraid of the dark, and asked a lot of "why" questions.
Years passed and I started seventh grade. I started to change. I didn't like getting dirty or playing dodge ball. I was embarrassed to even make eye contact with the boys at school. I couldn't play pretend games anymore. I was already physically mature, but I realized my mind was changing. After much trial and the biggest heartbreak of my life at the beginning of my eighth grade year, I started to really grow up. While my thoughts used to occupy far away lands and fantasies, they now take place in the moment, my future, and my feelings.

It's still hard to believe. I feel like I took my entire childhood for granted. I've had a lot of flashbacks lately. Looks at the past and things I used to do or think.
Then I think a few of my close friends. They still go adventuring and make me feel I'm the most boring person alive. Am I just boring, or have they not completely grown up yet?

(Hey, if a picture's worth a thousand words than there's 8,000 words worth of pictures in here.)