Today, I got quite a surprise. I came home to find a Private Message on a message board I used to run. I haven't touched the message board in probably a year or so (there's a message from me saying that I hope 2007 is a better year than 2006). While that in and of itself is not that surprising, the person the PM came from is. Several years ago, primarily in my last two years in high school, I was obsessed with Harry Potter, and even wrote several pieces of fanfiction. I did this mostly because the fifth book came out the summer I moved from Colorado to South Carolina, and getting online and chatting with people about it was a lot easier than going out in the South Carolina heat and trying to meet people my own age. In the process, I got involved with actually running a message board. While there, I made several friends, from all over the world. Among them was a girl 2 years younger than me from Canada, a girl 3 years younger than me from Scotland, and a guy 3 years younger than me from Ireland. The three of us became rather good friends, and even took to writing a piece of fanfiction together. We were even making plans to meet in Summer 2008, as that was the year the younger two turned 18. Unfortunately something happened... around December 2005, I believe, that caused the younger girl to leave us. Now, over three years later, she sends me a message, saying she's been thinking a lot about us of late, due to our original plans to meet. What I find most interesting about this entire scenario is that I hardly think about her anymore. I can't even remember exactly what happened to break us all up (though I do remember why the guy left. The older girl and I are still friends, and are still considering meeting this summer). So, I know you all, if you've made it this far, are wondering why the heck I'm telling you this. Well, it made me think. In the over two years since I last spoke with this girl, I have become a completely different person. While I think in some ways, I've always been mature, I've certainly matured enormously in the past few years, if only because I've faced new experiences. While three years ago, I would have been terrified to get a job and work, I'm now facing the very real possibility of me doing that, on my own, within the next 6 months. Then, my biggest worry was getting an A on the next test and keeping in touch with my friends, my biggest worry now is the well-being of a boyfriend who has had to deal with far too much death in the past year. For those of you who have been here a while, you may notice I've done a lot of arguing that teens should be given more respect. While I still hold that, I am slowly understanding as I move into my 20's, that few teens can really understand the stresses of life. I mean, my biggest worry three years ago, when I was getting ready to graduate high school, was getting enough scholarships to pay for college. But not once did I have to worry about one of my closest family members dying, as a few people I know have dealt with. While my grandmothers have both had cancer, I never worried about the effects of the treatment with them (well, with my paternal grandmother, that was because I didn't know about it until after I told my dad my maternal grandmother had cancer). I've never really had to worry about paying for things, because I knew that my mom would manage to provide for me in the end. The moral of my tale? Don't overestimate your experience. There are plenty of people who know more than you, even if you don't care to admit it. You'll realize it eventually, and you shouldn't make a fool out of yourself before you do.