Confessions of a Self Proclaimed Adult

The gravel shifted beneath her flipflops as she made her way down the familiar path, ducking under the low hanging branches of the northern trees. The sun was barely rising, a soft violet hue was painted on the clear sky and reflected on the lake beside her, the whitish outline of the moon still visible. It had become a tradition to make this journey once every summer, and even in the early hour, she had rarely felt more alive. She could feel her heart beating and see her breath blend together with the cool morning mist. As she came into the clearing the empty field laid before her the memories washed over her. It seemed a distant recollection, but it wasn't all that long ago that she had idled away the days here. Pushing these thoughts aside she reflected, It's so much different now. Those days seemed as if they were from a completely different lifetime.
The path sloped downhill now, and she could see the opening in the wall of trees below. She could hear the soothing sounds of the waves on the rocks. The wind whipped her loose curls around her face. She left the path and took a step out onto the wooden dock. The boards creaked beneath her feet, and she sat down at the very end of the dock, breathing deeply and looking down. Once she had cleared all other thoughts from her mind, she let her gaze lift and travel across the entire shoreline of the lake. This was easily her favourite place in the world. She felt a strange closeness to it, everything felt familiar; every path, every cottage, every person. She'd grown up here, not just physically, but emotionally and even spiritually. She'd arrived a childish naive, sheltered girl and every return brought new experiences that changed and shaped her into the person she had become. She'd learned the work hard and how to get along with those who are different. She'd learned to love and be loved, and how to deal with heartbreak. She'd learned to lead and serve and pray - earnestly. And now she was leaving it all, possibly forever. At the very least for a very long time. Who knows where life would take her by the time next summer rolled around. The last few years had past so quickly and yet so much had happened to fill them. She had changed more than she could have possibly predicted. Now her future hung before her, full of options, yet already played out in the heavens.
By now the sun was completely above the horizon, the brilliant orange and red sunrise caused light to dance across the landscape and dispersed alot of the mist. A bit of the cold was instantly lifted and the beams of light made the water look immensely inviting. She uncrossed her legs, pulled off her flipflops and dipped her toes into the refreshing lake. Her lake, as she liked to think of it, she was certainly no stranger to this water. She looked down at her reflection and realized the thought of leaving this place was enough to make her cry. It obviously couldn't have lasted forever, children grow up, and change, and move on. But for now, right now, it was all still hers, and to live in this moment was to act on one's impulses, so she stood, looked out over paradise and jumped.