For as long as I can remember, I’ve spent the majority of my days going about my daily routine with little hesitation. This cycle showed no sign of stopping until I lost a part of that routine. At that point, I found little love for much besides my bed and a pint of Ben & Jerry’s. With some direction from friends and family, my eyes were opened to the various things that one can fall in love with. At that moment, I realized that life was at the top of the list, after all, we only have one life to live so we might as well love it, right? While I’m still in the process of fully loving life and all its quirks, here are the top four ways that I’ve found are best to gain some appreciation for this rollercoaster ride of a journey.
Wake up early.
Okay, I’m going to be honest, I am not a morning person whatsoever, but one perk of having a best friend who works at 6:30 in the morning is that I’ve had to spend more mornings up at 6 to bring her to work. As a result of this, I’ve grown to admire the early morning sun for how it rises every morning, despite the fact that some people fail to appreciate its beauty. The second benefit, while it may seem obvious, is how there is so much more time to take advantage of when you wake up early versus at eleven. This is key to do when school hits hard and there’s a surplus of assignments due because you can get parts of it done early, but still have time to socialize or relax.
Enjoy the little things.
This sounds cliche, but finding something good in every day, even if it’s only your ice cream after a long day or the fact that you made it through all your classes, despite wanting to skip them. Once you find that these little things add up and can completely change your view on a “bad” day, you will automatically gain a piece of love for life.
Go on mini adventures.
While times may appear to be too busy for a spontaneous adventure, there is always enough time to set aside to do something for yourself, like a mini adventure/road trip. Go to that pretty spot you’ve always wanted to visit and take photos from different angles to truly capture the beauty. Grab a friend and go to that delicious ice cream shop everyone’s raving about. Make your daily life into an adventure itself so that you no longer count down the days until the weekend.
Surround yourself with family and friends.
If you were only to follow one step, follow this one. This has proven to be key for me because when you take a step back to admire all your loved ones, you realize that life is so much more enjoyable when you have such amazing souls by your side. Giving and receiving love, support, and a shoulder to lean on is so essential in this crazy world.
While these tips may not automatically make you embrace life with arms wide open, I hope it shows you that there is so much to be thankful for. That life is worth falling in love with and maybe, as a result, it’ll make you love yourself more too. I spent too many years thinking that in order to fall in love, it had to be in a romantic way, so I encourage you to choose to love whatever life you’ve been given, no matter how crazy it may be.
