Carli
Looking back, I didn't actually think I'd come to love this place. A year ago, I was just a simple girl from New York with simple dreams and ambitions. I didn't have any concrete plans apart from making it through senior year without causing any kind of trouble. Moving here wasn't as dramatic as anyone expected. I didn't have a life in New York that I would be missing anyway. I've lived my whole life being as mediocre as anyone could be, not caring about being exceptional, not really giving attention to anything in particular. I was satisfied with my life and the way I was living it.
But that was a year ago — it's a whole lot different now.
If I were to be completely honest with myself, I would say that this had been the best year of my life. For the first time ever, I learned how to step out of my comfort zone. I did things that I've never done before. I've turned my life into something meaningful that I looked forward to experiencing every single day.
I met an awesome group of people who undeniably made the remaining year of my high school life fun, exciting, and positively memorable.
I found a new best friend that I promised to keep forever.
Most importantly, I discovered how amazing it was to fall in love.
I've fallen in love with a guy - the only guy - who could make me laugh,cry, and feel extremely frustrated all at the same time.
Nicholas Chase Hayden.
He's terribly annoying - can become quite a handful at times actually - and really, really insufferable to the point that he makes me want to pull my hair out. He'd laugh when I'm being serious, make fun of me when I cry over Pixar movies, tease me when I get jealous, and get really sweet and cheesy when I'm trying to stay mad at him.
He's a dweeb, yes, but the thing is, he's my dweeb.
Given the above, I am still, no doubt, hopelessly, madly in love with Nicholas Chase Hayden.
Why, you ask?
He takes care of me when I'm sick, cheers me up when I'm feeling down, makes me smile when I refuse to smile, and loves me still despite all my flaws.
But most importantly, I love him because I am only the best version of me when I'm with him.
He makes me do things that I've never before, pushes me to my limits, and cheers me on while being at it.
To put it simply, he changed me for the better.
"Hey babe, are you all set?"
I loaded the very last of my stuff onto the trunk and nodded at Chase, who was smiling at me as he waited by the door of his car.
Today was the day I left for college and he offered to drive me all the way to LA so he could help me set up for my dorm. My mom wanted to come but my grandpa got sick and she had to go and visit him despite how bummed she was that she couldn't be there to send me off.
"Are you excited?" Chase asked me as the car pulled out of our driveway and started the trip towards the new chapter of my life, as dramatic as that sounded.
I looked at him and gave him what seemed to be a half-smile, half-grimace. "Of course I am," I told him. "But I'm kinda nervous too."
"Don't worry," he said. "You can do it. I know you can."
I moved closer to him until my head was rested on his shoulder. "I really wish you'd be there to always remind me that. It just won't be the same without you. I'm gonna miss you so much."
