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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Tampa chapter.

I’m afraid of aging.

I don’t want memories so lasting they pull my skin down so it can whisper my secrets to the ground. My hair should still be inflames rather than shimmer of smoke from my aftermaths. I envision future tattoos fading like my nostalgia. I see a big brother in some gaudy gown when yesterday we hid in tubs and tied cotton around clavicles and told all who’d listen about how we’d be Princeton graduates one day. Now, you’re a three-hour flight away. I miss mega-bussing weekends for a much needed time-off when my problems don’t let me off the clock. The 30 ft. between our beds are millimeters to this somehow improved 900 miles? I’ve never doubted that you’ll be in good hands, but still I wonder who’ll be there to hold mine and pat my back when I let another rip my heart out my chest so it can pulsate and lay by your dorm room door. Two kids, hiding in back seats, now taking turns front-left. I went from yellow to pink to punk, and you’ve bled orange to your apparel since day one. But when a decade decides to take its toll will we still sit in front of our screens snorting at childish humor since that’s all we want to be-kids. Kids careful about trying new things, seeking out strangers to call a ‘friend’. They say a sibling is a preassigned friend, but even acquaintances apologize for what you’re about to do.

I’m terrified of the tallies of years I’ve existed. My bubble-gummed bedroom plastered with pictures of yesterdays will soon be a box of strict memories. Petty algebraic problems of x and y have turned into exes, but why? As I age, less causes more and more is only the start to the excess of unsearchable solutions. Mom and dad are now parental units of an income invested to my future. A future I’m not ready to fall into.

I shiver from sheer terror that it’s been 2 years since I’ve migrated from up north leaving an empty nest behind me. Double my age now and I’ll be expected to be past to where my female parental unit was a whole me ago. They’ll expect me working, birthing, and brown haired. I’ve given up on reversing my growth. The ghastly reality won’t fail me.

Caity Berk

Tampa '19

Caity Berk, Former Campus Correspondents, is a current Senior at the University of Tampa, studying Marine Science & Biology with a minor in Environmental Sciences. She loves onion rings, dark chocolate, and empowering women. When she finally decides to grow up, Caity wants to work with people and help them understand the importance of the natural resources that surround us
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Sam is Campus Correspondent for the University of Tampa! She is a communications major with a concentration in media studies and a minor in new media production. For someone who is barely five feet tall, Sam has big aspirations. She hopes to become the next Rachel Hollis or Miranda Priestly. If all else fails however, she’ll have an exciting future as Mrs. Justin Bieber! Sam talks non stop about her sorority, Pi Beta Phi and can easily be spotted on campus wearing her letters. She is an avid brunch goer and disney enthusiast. Buy her some cheesecake and you're guaranteed friends.