Penny For Your Thoughts

 twenty one, you've just begun. but let me say, i'm proud. you're taking time and ignoring lies and you love feeling the sun. -Emma Lancaster

 If the world was gonna end Would you come see me again? Hold my hand until it's our time to go? Whisper softly in my ear, "I'll always love you, my dear," If the world was gonna end? Someday the sky will catch on fire And the one thing I'll desire Is your smile, your hand To hold.  We will dance in the rain And watch it burst into flame.  Someday the sky will catch on fire. If my world was gonna end,  Would you be there my friend? Remembering how we used to dance in the rain? Telling the man up above All about our love If my world was gonna end. -Emma Lancaster

 Celine Dion makes me think of platonic love.  There is so much to be said for platonic love, for a pure and unhurt and beautiful friendship, for girlhood.  It’s all coming back to me now.  We were lip syncing in the kitchen while making pasta for dinner, because college girls don’t know how to make anything else.  We giggled when someone walked into that communal kitchen and looked at us funny for our dancing.  I live for those small moments, the most golden glowing seconds.  The music brings it all back to me, and I smile when I think of those girls, those younger versions of ourselves that only knew love and affection for life and each other.  Those girls are working together to reach their goals now, to get into law and medical schools. What I’d give for another night of simplicity and platonic love. One night of girlhood and kitchen dancing with my best friend.  -Emma Lancaster

 The sun sinks low over water,  rippling with rays. And the sun shines through trees, green with late summer life. And you, you watch it shift. The world turns, you breathe in, you thank the Lord for the air in your lungs, and you breathe out.  Because when the water ripples with unsettling motion it always finds a way to settle  once more. -Emma Lancaster

 I never thought I would have to think about the loss of a celebrity I loved as a child until I was at least thirty. However, here we are. A boyband member passed from this earth. Similar to many others across the world, this passing, while not personal, brings up personal feelings. We all lost a part of our younger selves with the loss of someone famous.  We are forced remember how fleeting light can be. Enjoy the warmth while you have it. Hug your young ones tight today, and be graceful to your younger self. -Emma Lancaster

I miss being 18. She was carefree, she was bold, she was courageous.  She learned so much more than I ever could now.  She felt things so big, she could be sad and bounce back, and she knew what it meant to be persistent. She had a joy for life, an eagerness to keep going, to grow. I don't have much time for feeling anymore, and what a weight that can be. I miss going on walks on nice days.  I miss being excited.  I miss living with my freshman-year roommate. I miss the feeling of tears drying, knowing that it would all turn out okay. I was softer. I miss her. -Emma Lancaster

 nothing makes you appreciate life more than the loss of a precious one. -Emma Lancaster

 Here is to my roaring 20s, to the mistakes that I will make, to the lessons that I will learn, to the people I will love, to the sunsets I will watch, to the life that I will live, and to the life that I will build. Here is to my roaring 20s, to the years that will fall in this decade, to the months that will be spent with love, to the days that will be filled with joy, to the hours that I will pass, to the minutes that I will wish to last forever, to the seconds that I will soak into memory. Here is to my roaring 20s, to the years that will change my life, to the decade that was my childhood dream, to the present moment on the brink of something wonderful. Today, I am 20. What a fantastic thing to be. -Emma Lancaster

 I was listening to a song that made me think of him, when all of a sudden, there was a shooting star.  Goodbyes are always hard to say, even when they're goodbyes that have a "see you later" attached to them. Then, when I was thinking of him again, there was a second shooting star. He's one of the hardest goodbyes I've ever had to say, and I cried three times on the drive home. Then, when I was being a daydreamer and missing him and driving all at the same time, there was a third shooting star.  The universe has a funny way of telling you that it's going to be okay. The next song that played was All Of The Stars by Ed Sheeran. "I saw a shooting star and I thought of you." -Emma Lancaster