more than sideways ponytails... priorities

So much has changed in the past year... As I sit back and look at my Instagram posts over the course of the last 50-60 weeks.. It amazes me. My daddy has always said things like "it will be gone before you know it." or "your priorities will soon change." and like any teenage girl.. My, how it all goes in one ear and out of the other.. But, over time, I've learned... he is so right.

PRIORITIES? Yeah... Right. About those... 

Middle school: my priorities, in no particular order were as follows.... making sure my high, sideways, (so unattractive) ponytail was fixed just right, making sure my jeans were just long enough to cover my sperrys, texting my friends to make sure we wore the same tshirt on the same day at least once every single week (oh and the sleeves were rolled up twice on each arm), and finally, being the biggest teacher's pet I could possibly be. 

High school: priorities to me were arriving to school fashionably late just to be "cool"; making sure I had a seat in the student section at home football games; having at least one "rough" day a week at school and by rough, I mean like swear pants, hair tied chilling with no make-up on type of rough; joining all the clubs I could possibly join; worrying about quanity of friends rather than quality; and finally, making sure that no matter what happened, there was some boy at my fingertips.

And now, beginning of college.... 

Instead of the high sideways ponytail, it is now the high, Kim K ponytail or a high "sock bun". 

It is making sure to have Chaco sandals to walk campus in rather than sperrys. 

Instead of teacher's pet, I just get teachers' email for emergencies, but only for emergencies! Or questions... Maybe they may sometimes constitute as an emergency. 

You better hope you're not late to class, actually it should be a priority to get there exactly on time or you just might miss that Old Testament quiz that is given the first five minutes of class... 

The one rough day has suddenly turned into a priority of just getting up and putting on powder at least every day, maybe. (A girl can dream, right?) 

It is having few quality friends, quality relationships rather than 20 million that mean nothing. 

Lastly, boys are just friends at this point and having just some boy is no longer "cool" but rather waiting on the right one Friendship, with everyone, is such a priority and that I hope it stays.. Nothing more, nothing less.

I think however, the biggest priority, all throughout the years is to get yourself together and keep yourself together... The high ponytails will come and go, the friends will come and then leave, teachers change like the wind, shoes go out of style... But you and me... We stay the same. We are still us at the end of the day, and that "us" should be the best it could possibly be.. 

One of my favorite quotes ever reads, "whatever you are, be a good one." Priorities, my friends, priorities...