I'll open up these castle doors if you let me into yours

All week the song "Closing Time" by Matchbox 20 has been stuck in my head! And the only line that sticks out to me thought the whole song reads, "Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end." This verse reminds me how the past can never be put aside because every ending has a new reaction on your life. Oddly enough i don't find this to be a bad thing in the least. Now i look at many of my "misfortune events" as actually very fortunate. Well, to some extent. Looking back to Christmas time i was pretty down about a lot of things. And a lot of the things i shouldn't have even wasted my time worrying about. A guy who i had been off and on with since freshman year and i started hanging out again after a 9 month split. One night he came over to my house and acted like everything was fine. The next day i find out he is also with another girl. Any guy who is willing to treat me or someone else like that doesn't deserve my time.

-Alexis

The faces change, but the world remains the same

Anxiety is pulsing through my veins with worry of the next four months and future uncertainties. Entering high school i had a whole different outlook on life. I questioned myself, my friends and my future. Over the past three years I've found myself in places i thought I'd never look. As a junior in high school i was able to attend WTC to earn a certification as a Certified Nursing Assistant. Originally i had viewed the opportunity as a stepping stone to possible career choices although not long after being in a clinical setting had i realized that my so called stepping stone would be the foundation of my future. Recently I've just been accepted into the Nursing Success Program for the 2010-2011 school year at Viterbo University. As excited as i am to continue moving forward I'm just as nervous to grow up. Throughout my high school career the harsh truths of reality have found a slot to slip on into my life. At the age of 17 i had already known two kids younger then i who have passed on and seen many of acquaintances in orange jump suites. The harsh truths of reality scare me. Time scares me. Yet, i realize i need to not let fear drive my life.

-Alexis