If I could flip a coin, pick a card, or juggle my magic eight ball to somehow determine simple answers telling me what to devote myself to, there would be no doubt that I would keep all three of these thing in my purse at all times.  I am sixteen and on the same sinking ship of adolescence that most other high schoolers are on at this point in their lives.  I suppose it may be time to make an attempt at prioritizing, but it may be a lot more difficult than anticipated.  Letting go of youth is like saltwater on an open wound.

When we are young, the possibilities are seemingly endless; one day we are doctors performing surgery on our favorite stuffed animals, the next we may be astronauts exploring way up in attics where no man has gone before, and then we take a day off to just be ourselves.  Gaining years really sucks.  We all finally realize that we can’t be doctors, astronauts, explorers, and achieving just one of these goals is extremely difficult.

College. College? College!  Selena: “Magic eight ball am I going to attend a four-year secondary education institution?” Mr. Magic Ball: “You may rely on it.”  If only it were that easy… Once it is deemed or “Decidedly so” that you will be going to college, the next important decisions are always, “For what?” and “Where?”.  What is something that makes you happy now that will make you happy in twenty years?  They are asking you to determine the undeterminable!  Eighty percent of college students in America change their major at least once and then hope that this time they did not make another error.  Deciding where is also a daunting task.  Should you stay close to loved ones or branch out?  The choice between love and expanding yourself always seems to contradict, which creates a blur over what is really important to you.

Happy is defined by Dictionary.com as, “characterized by or indicative of pleasure, contentment, or joy”, but the actual definition can be relative from person to person.  Discerning what will make you happiest overall will never be an easy task to do all at once, especially when so many things seem so important when your world is still so minute.  As we all grow older, I can only hope that everything will become more absolute, but we will not know until that day comes, and I do not want to wish away my single chance at youth.