seventeen

i turned seventeen today.

so much has happened to me in the last year. i started this blog. i became a poet. i survived junior year. i discovered a love for journalism. i got a job. i got another job doing what i love. i fell in love with a girl who blew into this world on a leaf. i grew more self-confidence in two months than i had in the past five years. i learned so much about this world and about the person i want to be in it.

i met one of my best friends: a redhead gazing at the stars in the sky. i saw one of my best friends face-to-face for the first time: a photographer with skin made of film and a heart made of fairytales. i held on to the best friends i've held dear in my life for years: a braveheart, a violinist, a booklion, a secretkeeper,  a storyteller. and i hope i've continued being the best friend i want to be for them all. 

my life is made of journeys. sixteen has come to the end of its path, but i'll write its stories on the back of my unfinished map and read them every day. i don't know where i'm going yet; i don't think anyone is an accomplished cartographer. i can only hope next year brings as many beautiful words as this one; i can only plan to have more countries drawn when eighteen rolls around. for now, i'm ready for adventure. i'm ready for seventeen.

thank you to my redhead and my storyteller for celebrating a year that could not have been complete without them. 

   

thank you all for supporting my work. it's been a lovely year.

love,

sam