As Alaska Young says in John Green's "Looking for Alaska," "Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia." I lived with this 'nostalgia' for years - I was more focused on the future than on the present. I would spend all this time imagining adventures that I would go on, waiting for a future that would be 'better.' I felt that my day-to-day life wasn't good enough, wasn't interesting enough, and couldn't wait for some change to happen for my life to become more exciting.
That, of course, was a horrible way of doing things.
I was too focused on the big moments than on the things that get us there. Our lives aren't made up of major adventures, but the countless little things that come in between. The vast majority of our time on Earth is our day-to-day life, where we have a routine, and responsibilities, and probably nothing major planned. I used to just wait this out, watch Netflix, waste time on social media, and hope that it would get more fun one day. But it doesn't work that way, and now that I recognize that, I've made some changes to the way I lead my life.
When I finally came to understand that the key to happiness isn't planning for a future, but instead is feeling good now, I started living my life with that in mind. I stopped letting my life be passive, and instead started doing. I wasn't just merely existing, I was busy being. Being myself, being a human, being somebody. Somebody who knows who they are, who is on a route to being successful, and who is enjoying and savoring every step of the way.
Here is a collection of ways I've managed to live every day to the fullest.
1. Go out more.
It's a Tuesday, I don't have class, and I don't have anything on my schedule at all until 6:46 p.m. The old Gillian would have stayed in her dorm, sleeping in, lounging around, watching Netflix, switching between Tumblr and Facebook every five minutes. This, of course, wasn't very enjoyable and left me feeling pretty crappy 90 percent of the time.
Spending the entire day in your room makes you feel unproductive and definitely isn't what I would call enjoyable. Instead, go out. Even if you don't have plans with people (and trust me, most of the time I don't), go to a coffee shop, or the library, or find a place outside to study. If you feel weird and don't know what to do when you go out, reading, studying, or anything that involves the use of your laptop - even just checking social media - will suffice.
This is also a great chance to be productive, since being in a public setting motivates you to look like you're getting stuff done. The easiest way to look productive is to be productive, so it's a good way to do some studying or reply to those emails you've been putting off for a week.
2. Start the day earlier.
When left to my own devices, I typically manage to sleep until about noon. This is a great way to guarantee a wasted day. The earlier you rise, the more you can do that day. Starting your day at 9 a.m. instead of 1 p.m. gives you four more hours of daytime to work with, plus you won't feel as groggy and out of it throughout the day. (Probably. I'm no scientist; I'm going off of personal experience here.)
3. Do yoga, run, or exercise in some way, shape, or form.
Not only is exercise physically good for you, but it's amazing for you mentally as well. You probably already knew that, since people say it all the time, but that doesn't make it any less true. It's a great way to use up time that would otherwise be spent doing nothing.
Personally, I try to go to yoga when I have time because it's relaxing but still is enough of a workout for me to feel good about myself after. Some people prefer running, others have their own workout routines. Whatever works best for you is what you should do.
Another benefit of exercise isn't as immediately obvious. If you go to a yoga class, or to Zumba, or to any other organized class, it can be a great way to meet people. Making friends through these events is great in two ways - one, new friends are always awesome, and two, now you have another source of motivation to exercise: somebody to do it with!
4. Take time to relax.
Curling up on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa and a book can be exactly what you need. Or maybe you need to paint your nails and watch movies. Or take a bath and pamper yourself with Lush products. Or drink tea and write a journal entry. Whatever it is, taking some 'me' time to just sit back and relax is necessary once in a while, and is often just as fun as social activities.
5. Be spontaneous.
Find something to do if you don't have anything to do. When you're in that weird limbo of not having structured plans and not knowing how else to spend your free time, it's easy to waste time and fall into a routine of social media checking. Don't be afraid to come up with something on the spot to fill this time. Invite friends over to play board games, check out the events happening on campus, play in the snow (if you have any), or plan a spontaneous road trip. One time, my best friend and I decided at 6 p.m. to drive from our neighborhood in the west suburbs of Chicago to Indianapolis and back before midnight. We didn't actually make it there, only halfway before we turned around, but it was a lot of fun and made for a great story to tell.
Make the adventure come to you; don't wait for the adventure to happen. Too often we spend our lives waiting and hoping that an opportunity will come to us, and that good things will come with it. Living this way gets us nowhere. We have to seek out fun, and, when it becomes too difficult to find, we have to make it ourselves. Every day of our lives, we need to seize the day.
