- Text Size +
Author's Chapter Notes:
Now you guys know why this has been taking me so long to post! I'm having a very hard time, letting go, over here!
Baylee took over and insisted it was time, though.
But I'm going to be working more on LATU...plus there are more stories planned for the series, so this isn't the end of Baylee.
The emotions that spilled out last night, in the hallway, drastically changed my outlook on the situation that God had put me in. It was time for me to grow up and stop being a selfish, naïve child. All this time, I couldn’t even stop, to look at the bigger picture, and realize how selfish I was being. Morgan has called me a selfish brat on occasion, but I always just blew it off. Go figure, the girl was right! Is she really always right?

After heading to my room and crawling into bed, I did some serious soul searching over night. I actually prayed…talked to my dad…and stayed up most of the night just thinking. I had never seen Nick break down, like that, and it sent a completely new type of pain, crashing through me. Now I understood how he had felt all those times of holding me, while I broke down. He had struggled to stay strong, so he could help me cope, which in turn just caused him even more pain.

When they say that you should put yourself in someone else’s shoes, before judging them…boy do they know what they are talking about! As many times as I have said that I was going to try harder to get along with Nick, I kept judging him by thinking that he couldn’t relate to me…that he didn’t understand…that there was no way he could know how I felt. He stood there, countless times, while I yelled at him about no getting it, and all along, he really did know my pain…just on a slightly different level…but just as extreme and just as real.

Now, more than ever, I could hear my father’s voice, in the back of my head. It almost seemed like he was right there with me, crossing his arms and staring right at me. “Stop dwelling on the past and things you can’t change, Baylee. Live life, for tomorrow, not yesterday. Work towards your future and make all of us proud. Every one, of us, believe in you.” As usual, my dad was right, too. My future wouldn’t wait around forever, while I kept having an attitude over things I can’t even change.

It was time to put the past where it belonged, behind me. I’d carry the sweet memory, of my parents, along with me; but it was time to move forward on the journey to my dreams. Suddenly, as if hitting a brick wall, I knew what that future was. I had figured out what I wanted to be, and I knew it would be amazing…better than amazing!

“Thanks dad. I love you.” I could feel his smile and love consume me. My dad was proud. Just one night, learning an intensely valuable lesson, had made my dad proud, of me. Well there was more to come! “And…I’ll never forget you.”

With a smile on my face and a new outlook on my life, and future…I drifted to sleep. Last night was the end, of a chapter, in my life. It was a bitter sweet end, but an end, none the less. When I woke up this morning, I made a vow, to myself…that it would be a fresh start, with a new and improved, more mature Baylee.

A new beginning…and I was excited! You haven’t heard the last, of me! I’m going to conquer the world, you watch and see. This next chapter of my life will be even bigger and better than the last! My journey is far from over…as a matter of fact…it’s just starting!

So I make my correction…at the beginning I told you that this was LIFE according to Baylee. Well…this was just freshman year, baby! There’s so much more to come!
Chapter End Notes:
Thank you ALL so very much for sticking with this story and all the amazing feedback I've gotten over these (almost) 3 years! We've seen a lot on our journey and you all have helped to make it very memorable. Everyone has been amazing.
Keep a look out for LATU updates and the next story in the series!