Change.

 This story starts with a hurt 16-year-old. Not hurt in the typical way people usually think of. Hurt emotionally. But you couldn't tell by just looking at her. She has never been that straightforward and open. To know her, you have to gain her trust. Not many people have it. No one in her family or friends in her youth group. There is a group that she is a part of at school but the person that Meredith, Mere for short, trust most with her deepest and darkest secrets happens to be the five-month-old baby she watches on weekdays. She can pour her heart out to the sweet little blue-eyed angle without there being any judgment or the fear of someone using it against her.

Today, like all other days, Mere was picked up at 9 am by Alex, her employer, to go watch sweet baby Lola. She could not wait to tell her all about her weekend. After her first bottle and a quick morning nap, the storytelling began. Today's chronicle began with a wild Saturday night. She had gotten home at around 6:30 from Lola's house and quickly slipped into some more appropriate clothing for the night she would have. Lanie rushed out the door with only saying a quick goodbye to her mother and hopped in the car with her "Gal Gang" as they liked to call it. It was THE group from her school. The members consisted of Livie, Lizzie, Rheagan, Lauren, and herself. She had known Lauren and Rheagan since elementary school but had only met Lizzie and Livie during her freshman year. The bonds that these girls had grown were irreplaceable and she could not imagine them ever splitting apart. Once all the excitement boiled over from not seeing each other since school let out, they were off to a party for a mutual friend, Connor. I won't get into all the details of this said party; as I said, Mere likes her privacy.

Everyday Mere had something new to share with her buddy Lola. One morning, she didn't have the normal things to tell Mere. Instead, it was more of a warning. Not a scary "Hey! watch your back!" type of warning, but a warning I think we all need to hear, understand, and fully take in.

With tears in her eyes she started, "Please please please never take the time you have for granted. Live in the moment. Don't wish your future to come quicker than it will because if you do that, it will. Stay young as long as you can. When you grow up, it's all heartache and misery. sure you'll have your fun with your friends, but soon you won't see those friends at school or talk to them every day like it used to be. You won't tell them good morning while they eat breakfast or take pictures with them at every basketball game. You won't call them at 1 am when you can't stop crying for no reason and they're the only person that can calm you down. You won't have any new memories; only pictures of old ones. So please, I'm begging you, do not wish your time away no matter how good you think it'll be down the road. Enjoy the ride."

After that morning, it wasn't the same. She didn't have that sparkle in her eyes, she never went out with friends, and she never told Lola another story. Not that Lola noticed, she was as happy as could be. she never knew what was going on anyway, but 15 short years later, she found out all on her own. When Lola had grown into a beautiful young lady, she had landed herself working as a babysitter. Her child's name was Bentley. He was 7 months old and had a similar experience to Lola when she was just younger than him, but neither one of them knew that. Bentley was told many stories about Lola and what she did on the weekends; it seems to be that babies are very trustworthy humans. However, one day Lola came in with that same dull look in her eyes that Mere had on the day that everything changed. A look full of regret, heartache, and discomfort. She found herself saying something that sounded all too familiar:

"Please please please never take the time you have for granted. Live in the moment. Don't wish your future to come quicker than it will because if you do that, it will. Stay young as long as you can. When you grow up, it's all heartache and misery. sure you'll have your fun with your friends, but soon you won't see those friends at school or talk to them every day like it used to be. You won't tell them good morning while they eat breakfast or take pictures with them at every basketball game. You won't call them at 1 am when you can't stop crying for no reason and they're the only person that can calm you down. You won't have any new memories; only pictures of old ones. So please, I'm begging you, do not wish your time away no matter how good you think it'll be down the road. Enjoy the ride."

It was all a big circle. The hurt. The pain. The world we live in today is full of heartless people who hide behind a screen and tear each other down. Full of people who couldn't tell the difference between right and wrong if it slapped them in the face. It breaks my heart to see all the people who have been ruined because they grew up too fast and got a taste of the real world too soon. I do believe, however, it is extremely important to prepare today's youth for the things they will face in the future, but they are still young. The sparkle should not be dull at 16. So how did it get like this? How can we stop it? How will we save the future generations from constant bullying and disrespect? There needs to be a change. So if you can in any way, shape, or form, be the change.