We are on the verge of summer. I can practically taste the bug repellent and feel the warm summer sun tanning my skin. We are on the brink of liberation from school and the never-ending stream of homework, projects and assignments. We can endure, friends.

The strange thing about this school year ending, however, is the realization that life is happening. Time is passing and there is nothing we can do about it. What we can do is really LIVE in this time that we have. Life is too short to be stressed indefinitely. It is also too short to spend such an atrocious amount of time on our phones. Life is happening, yes, but it is happening in the world around us.

People are graduating, being wed and making families. Everywhere you turn, momentous occasions abound which mark the time that is passing. Life is not defined merely by the big events, but by the little everyday triumphs and tribulations as well. It's what happens when you aren't paying attention.

My freshman year is coming to an end, and it is hard for me to even say those words. I wish I could pause time in this moment and soak it up forever. This year has been a whirlwind of football games, tests, exchanges, homework and a myriad of little adventures in between. I would not trade this year and this experience for a lifetime supply of Mexican food. However, I'm glad that life is happening and that I haven't stopped to see how much time has passed already until now.

One of my best friends told me about a quote from Maya Angelou: “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Therefore, friends, let's listen to one of the greats and live life large. Let us have as many adventures as possible and endeavor ardently to not become entangled in the mass of stress that is school and work which threatens to consume us. I'll remind you once more.

Life is happening, so go LIVE.