Many things have changed over the years. I started the decade in the 7th grade and am ending it in the 16th grade. I was a straight A student in 2010 and now barely keep above a 3.0 (but algebra 1 and organic chemistry are different beasts). I was stuck in a uniform and now get to wear all my cool free college shirts. In 2010, I wanted to be a marine biologist and in 2019, I’m a semester away from graduating with a degree in chemical engineering.
But some things haven’t changed. I was 4’11 in 2010 and am 4’11 now. I listened to 2nd Day Crush in 2010 and listen to them now. I wore glasses then and staunchly refuse to switch to contacts now. I still love to write and still love science.
The decade has been pretty crazy. I have finished middle school and graduated high school. I’m about to graduate college. I went to a theater camp for four years. I have made hundreds of friends and changed so much. I have been published as a poet and have received accolades for my work in writing and leadership. I have been president of different clubs. There are a bunch of events over the past ten years that were instrumental to making me who I am today.
In terms of taste, things have not changed too drastically. I have gotten a lot more into indie pop music but have kept listening to many of the artists I used to. I have moved a bit away from Young Adult novels, but I also barely have time to read. I prefer science fiction now, though. I still love a good animated comedy movie, but I don’t think that ever leaves anyone.
When I began the decade, I was still rather shy. I loved acting and was in the advanced theater class but was still so afraid to speak up and do things on my own. I still like when someone comes to my defense or asks the professor first, but I am not as afraid anymore. I would spend three weeks two states away from my home at a camp with people I only saw once a year. Then I moved two states away in another direction to go to college. I was in a new place and knew almost no one. It was a trial by fire. I learned how to handle my own problems and improvise and developed into a reasonably responsible adult.
 As the decade comes to a close, I am reminded of the Amanda Palmer’s “In My Mind”, where she talks about who she thought she’d be and who she ended up becoming. In the first verse she says:
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“Maybe I’ve just forgotten how to see
That I am not exactly the person that I thought I’d be”
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But by then end she realizes she may not be who she thought she’d become but she is happy with who she became.
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“And maybe it’s funniest of all
To think I’ll die before I actually see
That I am exactly the person that I want to be”
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I am not a marine biologist or over 5 foot, but I am proud of who I am and hope to keep growing in this next decade.