I’ve been told many times that in the time it takes to blink an eye, life just might end up passing you by. If ever there was a moment when that cliché could be proven true, it would be now.

With the car packed to the brim, my ride slowly began four years ago. What was only an hour’s trip from Chicago soon would end setting the foundation for four years of smiles, frowns, friends, enemies, struggles, frustrations and laughs. At the time, I didn’t know it. But I do now, because of the feeling I get knowing it’s possibly coming to an end.

But, is it?

As I left the driveway of my house four years ago, I had no idea where my life would go – no one does. I still don’t, and I’m dealing with the fact that it’s OK.

One of the big problems people face in regard to life is that everyone looks for it to be simple. It’s nice to know what you want, where you’re going and where you’ll be. But unless you know a trick I don’t, that usually isn’t the way things work.

Life’s full of many firsts that teach us something we take with us on this directionless journey we’re faced with. Most look for it to be simple – for life to be clearly defined and mapped out from now until death. But, as complicated as life sometimes is, there’s a reason why no one ever will have a clear direction in life.

That’s because we’re given the opportunity to change our path everyday and not have to settle for predictability.

For me, I’ve waited my entire life for that lightbulb to go off and guide me on my journey. Friends, family members and mentors are there to provide guidance, but in the end, you and I are the ones making the decisions.

There are no bad firsts and there are no good firsts. They’re things we cherish, and things we regret, but everything teaches us something. We decide what to wear everyday, what to eat everyday, which shoulders to cry on, what to do on a Friday night and who to open ourselves up to. Life’s a big game of risk – that’s something you’re not taught, but something you have to experience for yourself.

I learned how to swallow a pill for the first time Tuesday night without having to mask it with food. Although it might seem like a small accomplishment, it’s one that’s taken 22 years and a clear sign that we sometimes are able to figure things out at the weirdest of times.

If ever there was a moment to make time stand still, it’d be now. I said that four years ago, and I’ll say it again.

But what I didn’t think would happen is I’d survive college. I have, and I guess that’s lesson enough that I’ll survive life, too.

Maybe you have to be a curly-haired Italian to have life somewhat figured out. But if you’re not, you can at least trust one will be there to help you through it.

We all look for change in our life, and usually that’s because we’re unhappy with the one we have. But in reality, we just don’t know how to deal the hand we’ve been dealt.

Maybe someday, we’ll figure it out. But until then, we’ll just continue to throw out cards hoping we’re playing the right ones.

In a few months, I’ll make that trip again. Except this time, it’ll last forever.