I’ve always hated the phrase “today is the first day of the rest of your life.” It always bothered me to hear people say that. What about all the time before that? Has every day before the first day of the rest of your life been a waste? Doesn’t everything you’ve done in the past make you who you are?

The reason I pose this question is because I’m going through a huge change. Tomorrow I’m leaving my home in Albany, N.Y. to start my life as a New York City working girl. I’m starting my first “big-girl” job and am moving into my own apartment for the first time. I’m so nervous I feel sick to my stomach, but I’m also incredibly excited.

I know everyone has gone through huge changes — whether it’s been graduating or moving or losing someone close to you. All of these things (good or bad) help teach you and shape you into the person you’ve become or are bound to become. Yes, tomorrow is the start of my new life as a working city girl (Carrie Bradshaw, watch out!) but I wouldn’t be able to do it without the experiences I’ve gone through in the past.

While I’ve been packing up the bedroom in the home I’ve been living in for over 15 years, I can’t help feeling sentimental and nostalgic. Everything from birthday cards I got from my grandparents when I was 8-years-old to swimming ribbons have made me burst into tears. I’ve been laughing out loud at my old diaries from junior high and high school. I’ve grown up so much it’s hard to even think of that time of my life, but it’s so much fun to look back at it. It also makes you wonder about how little things change the outcome of your life.

All through high school and college I’ve been a swimmer. I dedicated a lot to the sport and I credit a lot of my success outside of the pool to it. It taught me about hard work, discipline, friendship, team work, and motivation. If I had decided to dedicate myself to something like debate team over swim team, I might be a lot more articulate now, but I doubt I would be as confident and determined as I am. Doing one thing different would have made me a completely different person. Different friends, maybe a different college, maybe a different career path.

Our experiences make us who were are, that’s a saying I can dig way more than about the first day of the rest of our lives. But tomorrow is the first day of my new city life, and I am ready to learn from my mistakes and enjoy all the experiences I’m about to have.

(Picture = College was a great place to learn a lot — and not just in the classroom! That’s me with my good friend Joe at graduation, celebrating our first big step into the real world.)