How many times growing up did we hear, "Don't stay out too late!", "Ace these quizzes -- it will look important on college applications!" "Practice your instrument more -- don't give up and get frustrated so easily!"
It seems that our parents and teachers were so fixated on making us better all the time. Reminding us of our morals, values, and their expected perception of what we imagine our future to be.
This I suppose is their job, but how often do you have a family member or professor tell you to stop for a second. Breathe. Look around you, take in every sight, smell, touch, and let yourself fall in love with the moment.
Allow your body to relax into your heels and just enjoy the world around you.
As a child I did not have the pressure of a Facebook like. A Snapchat story view. A filter or a witty caption. I was focused on playing with my friends, coming up with ridiculous stories to act out, and which outfit to put on my Polly Pocket pool party collectible next.
This may make me sound a bit like a Grandma, but in our day and age kids and young adults are utterly too caught up in their technology to enjoy the now. It's always about what is the next like you'll get on Instagram, when your pictures will post to your profile, or when you will get that final text back to end your night.
As incredibly futuristic as this is to us, in a way it is so furiously selfish. We take for granted the little things to focus ahead. The next best thing. The next upgrade or big moment that we can capture on our story to suddenly become an internet sensation.
If a phrase has never been as significant and relevant, then this one beats it to it. Stop and smell the roses is probably one of the best quotes that is too easily stomped over. Like a flower, the idea of mindfulness in the present and current time seems pretty. Delicate, yet beautiful. But when you take time to examine it's intricacies, it becomes so elaborate and similar to a treasure.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is, do not hesitate to stop and look around you. As one of my favorite Broadway composers Lin Manuel Miranda writes in Hamilton -- "Look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now.[....] Look at where we are, look at where we started."
Put down your tablet, your MacBook air, your iPhone 8208, and just appreciate the world we are in. Don't be afraid to go out for a few extra minutes on your walk, to dive in depth to the conversations you are having with an old friend at your favorite coffee shop, or even just to hug the person next to you and remind them of your love.
With a little bit of this everyday, you can turn around your perception. My boyfriend told me once that life is all about how you view things, but most importantly how you view yourself and what you believe you can do. He told me to start off everyday while looking in the mirror, saying to myself five likes and dislikes I like about myself.
Pretty soon, this routine becomes repetitive and sinks into your brain. I was scared to fall with him. I was scared to let myself feel.
As humans, we all are scared to be honest about our feelings. It is not a social skill that one is born with, each individual needs to grow with it to understand how to properly navigate around their heart. But if there is one thing I have learned from him it's that it's okay to feel. To laugh a little loud, sing a little crazier, and live a little harder.
Because if we aren't living life to the extent of every day, then what are we doing?
Taking all of this in moderation of course, and not letting yourself be turned down as easily. Prioritize.
