Recently I’ll admit that I’ve been struggling a bit with life. It could be that in a few months when I graduate from Michigan State I have no real concrete plans. Possibly, it’s the fact that I just got back from the greatest summer of my life and nothing seems to compare to those phenomenal days on the road. Perhaps it’s the realization that I can’t have Chipotle for every meal because I don’t have an endless back account and I’m gonna turn into a burrito if I eat there one more time. Or, maybe its because I’m not living like I was dying.

A few weeks ago, it was a normal Tuesday at the fraternity castle. Seven hours of class, no hot plate of food to come home to and a paper due in two days. “Sounds like a great time,” I said to myself as I sat down at my suite room table. With my head hung down low and my sanity near breaking point, my roommate, came crashing in. Now, let me tell you something about my best friend Nick. The guy is the truest redneck you’ll ever see come out of the depths of Chicago. The kid wears Thorogood boots, blasts Florida Georgia Line, and drives a jeep with tires the size of Paul Bunyan. Still, he manages to claim he grew up in the darkest parts of Chicago and knows how to “survive on the streets.” You have got to know one more thing about my boy. He likes to have some drinks.

As I try to remind him, it’s a Tuesday night, but he insists that we walk down to the liquor store and purchase us a bottle of bad decisions. To my apprehensiveness, I say, “I’ll have one drink and that’s it.” As soon as I know it, I’m walking out of Spartan Spirits with not a bottle of bad decisions, but a box of bad decisions. Cause' nothing says, I’m an overly manly man than a box of Sunset Blush Franzia. We continue with this night of self-respect as we take the box and two Solo cups to our neighbor’s house. They invited us over to study, so naturally I’m researching how much wine two people can humanly consume and Nick is just trying his best to read the box. If you can’t tell, I’m the brains of this operation and he’s the brawns.

After we successfully “study” for a few hours and annoy our neighbors to the point where we aren’t being invited over ever again, we stumble back to the house. Now I’m going to break my own rules right here, right now and self-incriminate myself, because before we left their house, I must confess, I took a loaf of bread from their kitchen counter. I needed it for the most delectable peanut butter and jelly sandwiches I planned on making and, you gotta understand, it’s hard out here for a pimp. So with that being said, Nick and I headed inside and back up to suite five.

Here’s the part of the story that’s worth reading. I’m up at our bar making the sandwiches and out of nowhere Nick starts asking me questions like a prosecuting attorney in a murder trial. “Why have you been sleeping in late, turning in half-baked work and flat out being unhappy?” Before I even get a chance to defend myself, he goes on a rant. “Dude, you’ve gotta start enjoying every day! You’ve got to want to work hard the minute you wake up and start breathing, the minute the sun comes up! When you begin your days, you’ve gotta want to come home to something! Man when I was a kid all I wanted to do was come home, get in the mud, and play with my Tonka truck.”

“But, Nick!"

“But nothing! I never want to change that mentality! I want to constantly think that I’m going to come home to my Tonka truck, and nobody can tell me different! No opportunity is going to go wasted, either! I’m gonna live like I was dying!”

Silence filled the room. In my 21 years of existence I don’t believe I’ve ever resonated with a statement so perfectly. I sat there and was dumbfounded by how my roommate, who is now stuffing his face with peanut butter, just spoke the words of unparalleled knowledge. This melancholy attitude that I’ve been living with for the last eight weeks or so needed to come to an end. I needed this 2 a.m. conversation to realize I’ve been living without a “Tonka truck” and been living like I have days to spend.

Maybe you’ve been feeling the same way, and maybe its time to do something about it! Remember how happy you were to play with a brand new toy? How you took care of that plaything like it was your most cherished possession and wouldn’t let it out of your sight. What happened? When did we all get so busy where we couldn’t enjoy our lives? You know the little things in life, before we got content with being lazy, skipping out on fun opportunities with our friends, and saying no when we could be saying yes! These were the thoughts that raced through my head as I sat back and realized tomorrow could be my last day.

If I told you that tomorrow was your last day to live, what would you do with it? Would you sit down to study for your exam that takes place in three days? Would you say that you couldn’t come over for a few drinks because you’re really into the latest cheesy show on Netflix? Or would you sleep in late because you have nothing better to do and you don’t want to deal with people?

I’ll go out on a limb and say you’d want wake up early and maximize your day. I’d assume you’d want to have a solid, fun filled, action-packed day and that you’d probably not want to spend it alone. And at the end of that day, you’d want to come home to something that just knocked your socks off. Maybe it would be a slice of heavenly cheesecake. Maybe a tub filled to the brim with a hot sensational bubble bath. Maybe your “Tonka truck” at the end of the day is going back out again and having drinks with the boys!

I say it is time to get out of bed while the birds start chirping, make some coffee and get out there! Start taking some calculated risks. What about that girl you wanted to ask out since sophomore year? Been wanting to start training for a marathon? Do you want to sign up for alternative spring break, go against the grain and help out other people in need? If you can get where I’m coming from, then understand the place is here, and the time is now. There isn’t a better doggone time than today to start cracking on these plans. The world is full of opportunity, and even though you may not know what to do with it now, you will once you seize it, and you’ll be thankful that you did.

Did you ever think about the fact we acknowledge our birthday every year, but neglect to acknowledge the date of the day that we die? That may seem harsh, but that’s the honest facts. We don’t know what tomorrow brings and instead of wasting it, or being afraid of what happens next, let's go out and dominate it. As a society, let's wake up and strive for greatness!  We often have people tell us “there is a lot of life to be lived,” but in my opinion that’s just an assumption, not a promise. But lucky for you, I’ll make you a promise. 

I promise that today is a great day to have a great day, that the only disability in life is a bad attitude, and that the greatest gift of all is life. So I’ll bet my bottom dollar on those three things, as they’ll help me live today like it’s my last.

Oh, and don't worry about what to do when you come home after maximizing your day. The Tonka truck will be waiting in the mud.