"A years gone by, August is fine" - August, Ben Camden
Today is the last day of August, August 31st.
A year ago, when I wrote an announcement just like this, it was a great moment. The sky was dark, fairy lights were on, and flipturn's August was playing on my iPod. This year, I'm at my laptop, lights on, flipturn playing, wondering if August is still important to me.
Because in reality, things change. People move on. You learn to laugh again. Good times outnumber the bad, so much so that you can barely remember the bad ones. And all of a sudden, a year has passed and August seems like a regular month again.
But it's not. Because as much as we change, reinvent ourselves, and discover new things, our pasts are still key parts of who we become.
I am who I am now because of the people in my life who have made this life worth living. Who have chosen to give me a chance. Who have become my best friends.
Who I will forever be grateful for.
And as I look back on August, I understand that it is time of growth. Of taking that step back to see the full picture. Of letting go of those more painful times in my past, yet understanding how they helped shape the person I am today.
I will say it again: Life is too short to rush through, too short to take for granted, and too short to spend alone. Life is worth living, every single part of it.
Take that step back. Look at who you are. And live, because you are proud of who you see.
Here's to August. Here's to friends. Here's to life.
"But don't you remember, August, honey, you were mine" - August, flipturn