My Revelation Moment

    In the dark yet illuminated night, my four closest friends and I drove the empty roads of Maine. We all came from different states and had met four years earlier at summer camp. Different than my home friends, they were the type to lift each other up, rather than jokingly tear each other down. Being with them was a thrilling relief, but it hurt to know we could only all be together for a short time once a year. 
    Suddenly, Taylor Swift came on to the car radio, and just from the first two seconds of the song we all excitedly celebrated what was about to play, Love Story. A song we'd known since we were seven years old. Anna, who was driving the car, immediately twirled up the volume, and we all rolled down our windows to perform for the perfectly quiet forest around us. The first lyrics of the song spilled out,
    "We were both young, when I first saw you." I glanced over to Lexi, the girl I'd known the longest, as we dramatically continued, "Close my eyes and the flashback starts, I'm standing there..." Our voices continued to grow louder as the song gradually built up. I always forgot how beautiful that song was, and it always appeared back in my life for just the perfect moments. I could feel the weight of this past year slowly lifting itself off my chest. It had been the hardest year of my life, but I'd made it this far. I looked around at all my friends faces in the minivan, all glowing in the headlights of cars drifting past us. We all were so different every way, personality, style, strengths, yet it worked out so perfectly. I loved the way that our contrasting ways built each other up. I loved the ways that we all brought different things to the table. A perfect circle filled with a deep connection of memories.
    The chorus was nearing, and I could feel tears rushing to my eyes as I became aware of how happy I was. It was the first time I'd been truly happy in months and the first deep happiness I'd felt since the last time we'd been together. I threw my hands out the window and burst my usually quietly careful voice to full volume. I was done holding back the chorus was here and I belted,
    "Marry me Juliet you'll never have to be alone, I love you and that's all I really know!" Using everything within me to sing. The past no longer mattered. Every person who'd made me feel like I wasn't enough, every event that had made me scared to ever leave home again, every time I'd felt it would never get better, it was over, because I'd made it. We all did. Morgan, Lexi, Anna, Bert, and myself. Our group was together again, it didn't matter for how long, because all it had taken was that one climactic moment to free myself again. I was no longer simply living, I was alive. Life is moments like those, when you realize everything has worked out on its own, when it all falls right into place, when your body is zapped to the present and the feeling of freedom lifts you up. I was exactly where I was meant to be. It was pure gratitude. Pure appreciation. Pure love for my life and everything in it. From way up where I felt in that moment, I could see how far I'd come, and I loved myself for making it that far. It was that moment, that I saw what life was about.