As my class load starts to increase, I have been counting down the days until spring break, where I can be free from schoolwork and obligations that follow it. However, this attitude I am in has put me in a lull for the past couple of weeks. I find myself just existing day by day, rather than fully living.

I wasn't really aware of how my attitude was affecting my everyday life until I heard the quote, "Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% of how you react to it." This really hit me hard. I have been blaming my schoolwork and my busy schedule for the lack of life I haven't been living when life hits you hard sometimes.

Then I started looking at other aspects of my life and reflected on my attitude towards my friends, my family, a bad day, lack of sleep, and so much more. It is so so easy to look at the glass half empty, but what if I started looking at the glass half full?I know how cheesy this concept is, but there is a lot of truth to it.

For example, I am trying to find a job so I can have a little extra spending money, and I want that job to be in something related to my major. Being a freshman with little experience, many employers tell me they are looking for someone with more experience than I have. Every time I get that email, my heart sinks a little deeper. But after reflecting on my attitude, I realized there are things I can do on my own to improve my portfolio and resume to become more experienced. Instead of waiting for the right opportunity to happen, I am trying to create that opportunity for myself.

Jennifer Read Hawthorne, an international speaker and a renowned author, reports that humans have anywhere between 12,000-60,000 thoughts a day! The interesting part is, 98% of those thoughts are the same ones we had yesterday, and on average, 80% of our thoughts are negative. How crazy is that? I'm working towards changing that in myself. Stop waiting for spring break where life seems less stressful, and start living that life now. What can you do to change your half-empty glass to a half-full glass?