Signs of a Big Kid

I'm finally in my new apartment. I'm finally here. I dreamed about it for months. I thought about where everything would go. How we would decorate. How much better everything would be.
And everything is a lot better. One look at our granite counter tops will assure you it is better. But when I look around at my beautiful new apartment, I can't help but feel a twinge in my heart. It all seems a little bitter sweet.
This is the last college apartment I will have. This is my last "single girl" bedroom. This is the last place I will live in with the girl I have called my roommate for the past two years (this will be the third year we've lived together and we haven't managed to kill one another...how many college girls can say that?).
In the few short months that have passed since I've signed this lease, so many things have changed. When I move out of here in 9 or 10 months, I'm moving to a new town. I'll be moving to a new apartment or house that I will later share with my new husband. I'll be finding a new job. I'll be starting a new life...and it didn't really hit me until I moved in.
But at the same time, I can't help but feel a sense of accomplishment. I've moved into my first REAL place! This stuff is MINE. We have our own furniture. Even if the majority is taken from our parents, it is still ours. We can do what we want. The lease is in MY name. The bills are in MY name. In nearly every sense of the phrase, this place is mine.
Even the new bed in my room is mine. Completely. My soldier and I bought this bed two weeks ago together. It was our first real purchase. It was the first real thing that was ours that we knew for sure it was going to be in our married lives. It just feels so exciting.
I can't wait to see where this year takes me. Before I know it, I'm going to be a married woman. But for now, I'm enjoying the last college apartment I will have. I'm going to soak it up for all it is worth. And when the time comes, I will be more than ready to move on to my new life as an Army wife.