Why is it when you are 17.. your world is ending.?

The past few weeks have been a huge blur. Time has passed so quickly and I have barely had a chance to rest or even catch up.

But as life swirls around me, running ahead, and leaving me somewhere in between, I hear a voice crying out to me, and it says..." Why is it when you are 17.. your world is ending.. because??" And I am sure we can fill in a blank or two there, like when your current boyfriend breaks up with you, and you think you were supposed to be with him forever. Like at 17 you even know what forever entails?
And so, my thoughts are on a certain 17 year old, a girl who has her life before her, has just graduated high school, thought she knew where she was going to college, and had her next four years all mapped out. So what happens to change those plans? Life, love, and fear.
All of the sudden she isn't sure of much of anything, and she is faced with choices she has made, which, for the most part were not so great. I mean really, do you even consider other people when you are 17? Do you care if your actions cause other people pain and heartbreak? Or if you cause your mom to loose sleep because she doesn't know where she went wrong in raising this child which no longer resembles the girl she gave birth to. Does she care if she broke a promise she made, or a heart that was planning plans of his own?
I don't know any of those answers. I do know that she is fearful, scared, and unsure of herself. I know that because she thought she had found someone fun, who offered her a bit more of a different perspective of life than what she had, seemed a bit more adventurous for a few days. That she was willing to give up on a promise to love someone, who had also promised to love her too. And the ring came off, and her guard is down, and doubts creep in like the rolling fog.
But then, reality sets in. She is still afraid, unsure, and scared. But somewhere along the way she realized, maybe the adventure isn't so great after all, maybe the green of the grass is just the same green over on this side of the fence. Whatever caused her to feel that the choices she made on a whem were not necessarily so great as she orginally thought, well, I for one am glad to see, that some sense has crept back into her cute little head.
But then, she is still 17, young, and not mature. No life lessons to look back to, or to learn from. Just the road ahead, and, well, she is fearful. And I say to her, " Honey, it's normal to be afraid, to be unsure, and to be a little lost. But don't let fear stand in the way of you going to a college not close to home, or to stay with someone that isn't so bold and fun that he might jump off a huge building with a small bouncy cable attatched to his body. Just because he is practical, and plans ahead doesn't mean he is boring."
And to those 17 year olds out there, who are lost, scared, and fearful, I simply say, " it's ok, life will go on, and tomorrow is yet another day."