in the blink of an eye.

You know, I can't help but stop and laugh at life sometimes, realizing how things change in a single second.

On September 16, 2008, my best friend called to inform me that he had figured out where he needed to be. As the rocks crunched underneath my cleats & I walked to my truck on the phone, my emotions were running wild. I was happy and sad all at the very same time. Now, a year later, I can't imagine being more proud of Clint. I'm happy to be a friend of his, happy to support him, and only sad about the fact that we are unable to hang out, and only have a limited amount of time to talk. You know what, though? Its okay. He's found where he needed to be, the United States Marine Corps, and it's funny because it seemed to have happened in the blink of an eye.

On May 10, 2009, I walked into my "last-first" day of high school. It really was just an ordinary day, but I sometimes feel like I'm walking on a bridge, unable to see the ending, and the planks behind me slowly fall into the ground leaving me stranded with no way back. Although I wouldn't go back and change a single thing, I'm already turned around wondering, "did I do everything I could? Did I make the most of it?" All of while I'm in the present trying to make the most of IT, too. I've grown up with the best class, best friends, best school, and best faculty that encourages me that I could have ever asked for. Yes, we have had our share of tears & maddness, but the laughs & smiles of the past thirteen years have overridden any of those other emotions. Not many people can say that they know everyone in their graduating class on a personal level, but I can; also, sixteen other people can. We have always been there to comfort each other, which leads me to saying just how different next year will be. I can't imagine not being able to look behind me and strike up a conversation with Walker, laugh with Megan & Hollie during Latin class, cut up with Alex, Lillian, and Veronica on the softball field, or cheer on the boys at a sporting event. Some things just won't be the same anymore, simply because they change in the blink of an eye.
On September 21, 2009, I watched a classmate, an athlete, a son, a boyfriend, a brother, a leader, a companion, a senior play his last football game of his high school career. In one play he was shot to the ground like a bolt of lightening. As his team took a knee, the only sound to be heard throughout the entire stadium were the echos of his screams, and the sniffling of the teary-eyed fans. No one wants to watch a tradegy take place in the life of someone else, and no one wants to go back to the rememberance of it either, but to find an ounce of joy (or pride) on September 21, you could look at his teammates. They oozed pride for their brother. Although their hearts were honestly breaking in two, they stepped up to the plate & finished the game FOR HIM.. All because things changed for him in the blink of an eye.

the world in a mile.

driving down an old dirt road
you just might come to find
my little town called Macon
i seem to be left behind
but that's not it, not in the least
for flags still fly and freedom's free
and in my old run down town
there's pick up trucks and huntin' hounds
there's talk of whose buck was biggest
whose fish weighed more
who's here now, and who's gone before
not much changes in my small town.
one could tell if he were passing by
that the boys live for the Friday night lights
the girls work hard to keep their fame
to them it's more than just a game.
the tradition they have come to know
spreads through my town; the talk, the show.
back to my city, so sacred, so small
it's cradled by crops, tractors and stalls.
a farmer works hard from daylight 'til dusk
not by choice, but because it's a must.
i am not fragile, although i am old
my oaks stand high, and i can bare the cold.
i may be small, but i have a big heart
my hospitality shines like stars in the dark.
i am Macon, a very small town
i am lifted spirits when someone is down
i am the neighor that you give a smile.
i am laughter, key to making life worth while.
i am a town with prosper and pain
a town that believes in "nothing to lose, but everything to gain."

- Julianna Persons, 2009