“ Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
If you don’t know this quote it was said the man himself, Ferris Bueller. When you first hear it, it’s a little cheesy, but as I watched the movie a few nights ago it stuck to me as handfuls of ideas started pouring in. It is true if we think about it, I mean, how fast life moves. Turning on a movie that we loved when we were younger only to realize that it was made 30 years ago… Where did that time go and what were we doing as it passed? This lead me to realize that I want every moment to mean something in my life, even if I’m just relaxing and watching late night TV with a glass of wine (and ice cream, of course). A large fear of mine is to look back on my life when I’m 80 and have nothing to look back on.
As a college student, so many doors have been able to open up that I never imagined. An important one being the different types of people I have been exposed to. In high school I found that staying close with that inner circle of friends was the niche. It seemed like there was no point to branch out and connect on more than a surface level with strangers because I had my friends and they had theirs. Now as I come to the later end of my sophomore year as a college student, I realize that I feel the exact opposite, I feel as though having friends in different walks of life is a lot more beneficial to the soul as both individuals grow from being exposed to different lifestyles. I’ve learned it’s important to open yourself up to others you normally wouldn’t, and that so much knowledge can be gained by doing this. From there, hopefully an amazing friendship you never would’ve imagined can blossom. Creating true friendships are an important part of life, one that I'll want to look back upon and be thankful to have had.
Moving to a larger scale of new opportunities as a college student, the ability to study abroad is the perfect option to broaden your horizons. I haven’t had the privilege to do this yet, but I plan to during my junior year and know that this quote especially needs to stick with me as I travel through the world’s wonders. The people I’ll meet, the food I’ll taste, the places I’ll visit, and most importantly, the memories I’ll make with be some of my favorite in my lifetime. These are things that I want to forever cherish and this will only be accomplished by learning to soak it all in during the moment, not worrying about the future.
It’s scary to know how fast time flies as we place so much emphasis on the anticipation for each of life’s large events only to find ourselves looking back, in the blink of an eye, wondering where it all went. No matter where we end up and no matter what life throws our way, we must always remember to live in the now, because in no time we will find ourselves looking back wishing we were re-living our fondest memories.
