the last supper

today is my last day being 17. this has been an interesting year. so many challenges and things to deal with. but it has also been a year of starting new, holding onto hope, and making friends. i'm on the turning point of my life, the night before i am legal, the night before i start my adventure. i know i'm not ready. i hope and hope that i will wake up in this new life and find myself old enough to handle the new problems, smart enough to finish the old problems and brave enough to face the world alone. as i eat my celebratory meal of pizza and ice cream shakes, i find myself on the edge of my life. this isn't the end of me. this is the beginning of who i could be. i smile as i realize for once i'm not the new girl. i'm here with hundreds of other people who are strangers to each other. who are as scared and alone as i am. for once i'm in a place where everyone hasn't known each other since 2nd grade. we are all fresh beginnings. empty frames, but not the kind that sit on a box or shelf with no hope. we are the kind waiting to be filled.