I am only human. Sometimes I catch myself wondering why life has to be so difficult. Of course, I really shouldn’t be complaining. I know that someone somewhere always has it worse, but when things get tough it's hard to wonder why it has to be this way. Why can’t we just live a simple life with no unexpected turns or disappointments?

Because that would be boring. A straightforward life with no spontaneity, be it good or bad, would not even be considered a real life. To live is to feel everything, maybe a little bit too much. To live is to try out for that musical even if you’re a horrible singer. To live is to fail a test, but work harder next time to get a better grade. To live is to love with everything in your being, even if you may end up heartbroken. To live is to travel to a new place and have it change your view on the world. To live is to meet someone who takes everything you thought you knew and looks at it with a different perspective that turns your world around. To live is to be challenged, to feel uncomfortable, to ask that girl on a date even though she might say no. To live is to take every experience that is given to you and learn from it.

Don’t be too timid to take a chance. Don’t run when things get hard. Don’t waste your years with your guard up because you’re afraid of being hurt. Don’t let the word “regret” be in your vocabulary. Feel everything at once, not nothing at all. Treasure the happiest moments but embrace the pain. Know that when one door closes, another one always opens. Give life everything you have. Push yourself out of your comfort zone. Become stronger with every obstacle you jump.

But why should you be taking advice from me? I’m just a regular college student trying my hardest to get by. I understand that I may not be the wisest person on this Earth but I do know that if given the option, I would choose a hectic, confusing, crazy life a thousand times over a plain and simple one. I don’t want to just make it through the day, I want to live.