What a difference five years can make

Today while I sat at Sonic Drive-in waiting for my $3 order of cheddar bites, I found myself thumbing through my wallet. It's fun to do sometimes — I'm a bit of a pack rat.

I found my Dependent I-Card from when I was 16. I found my MHS Activity Card from senior year. I found an old iTunes gift card and a new one I haven't redeemed yet. But somewhere between my Delta SkyMiles Card and a Paul Mitchell business card, I found a small slip of paper that said this in faded ink:

Beehive Federal Credit Union
Date: 12/14/03
Time: 12:11
Location: 65 South Center
Rexburg, ID
Withdrawl: $60.00
From Savings
Current Balance: $120.58

I laughed a little when I saw "$120.58." I am a poor, starving college student. But — I strained to remember — was there really a time that I was that poor?

That got me thinking. Dec. 14, 2003, was only five years ago. I was just starting high school. I was sophomore class president and worried about putting together an awesome dance. I couldn't wait to be old enough to date, and it felt like 16 was decades away. I didn't worry about money or time or what I was going to cook for dinner.

Another five years before that, I was 10. My parents were building a house and I didn't want to move to Rexburg. I was afraid the other kids would be mean to me or that I'd get a bad teacher. I was trying to learn how to do my own hair — and failing.

Now that I'm older, I move at least twice a year. I've done my own hair thousands of times and I can hardly remember what it was like to not be able to date. But I worry about having enough money or good enough grades. I worry about where I'll live next semester. I worry about choosing a good man.

How much, then, will I change in the next five years? Ten? Twenty? Where do I see myself? Sonic was particularly busy today, so I had a lot of time to think about it. I have a plan, but if there's one thing I've learned in the last five years it's that life rarely follows even the best laid-out plan. I do know a couple things, though. I see a few specific things coming:


Internships ...


... graduation ...

... the Temple ...

... a family.

I think the best is yet to come.