For Hunter, Priscille, Any, Taylor, Clarissa, David, and Summer Bridge 2014

I moved to Austin last summer not knowing a single soul

I was born with the tendency to rush things,

To take in every possible experience and never miss a moment

So the fact that I was starting college early only seemed appropriate 

I met you and we were instantly friends

We took on the city, left our small hometowns behind

Experienced everything there was to experience upon starting college

Together and with our new friends, the days were long and the nights longer

After a couple weeks, our friend group was unbreakable

Spending every second of every day with each other

Living in a dream, as if time did not exist

And we would be 18 forever, and the night would never end

You had EVOLVE tattooed on your wrist 

You said that it represented how life is always changing

As well as the people in it

And how you have to learn to change and grow with it

A lot of changing had been happening recently

I made new friends, you included, whom I considered to be the best

I had a first semester in college under my belt and in the books

We shared moments of laughter, enlightenment, fear, acceptance, and happiness

We were all ready to come back to Austin after the break between Summer and fall

We made promises to make time to see each other

To not let our schedules or classes interfere with our genuine friendship

And we were going to return to the campus we claimed, as friends unchanged

But those promises of seeing each other again did change

We were young and forgot that the world was inconstant 

Reality came to shake things up a bit

During the drive home, you never made it

Our friendship and experiences evolved into memories

Our happy past suddenly transformed into a painful one

My new experiences in college would be without you

The city that we claimed as ours would never be the same anymore

We arrived back in Austin after the break

Campus was not the same without you

The streets, sidewalks, restaurants, libraries, classrooms, dormitories

Everything changed from the moment you left

But thank you for teaching me change

For showing me that life is wavering and inconstant

Along with the people in it, nothing is forever

And thank you for teaching me how to grow and Evolve.