Sometimes we become so engulfed with our day to day lives that we forget the smaller miracles that happen to us on a daily basis. We immerse ourselves wholeheartedly into our school work, our jobs, our responsibilities, that we forget what it’s like to live in a tiny moment of opportunity, presented to us through the most unconventional ways.

That feeling of putting on fuzzy slippers and wiggling your toes deeper into the fluff that’s tickling your feet. Watching specks of dust dance around in the streams of light piercing through your windows on a sticky summer day. Biting into a greasy slice of pizza and accidentally pulling off too much of the gooey cheese until half of it is in your mouth. The sound of freshly fallen leaves crunching beneath your steps in the crisp fall weather.

Those moments when chills surge up and down your skin when a musician successfully hits a high note. When your seat warmers begin to glow with heat as you drive past snow-capped hills and frosted windows. Laughing until your stomach strains in pain and you’re paralyzed in a moment of pure bliss. Smelling the familiar scent of your house upon returning from a distant trip.

But there are even better simple pleasure in life, the ones that are shared with others. The ones that can’t be replicated on an small rectangular screen. The type of memories that require your complete and utter attention to even completely notice are happening around you. Whether it’s through actual human interaction, or just observed, you can’t help but beam with joy when you think about them.

Watching the happiness bounce around someone’s eyes as they tell you about the things they’re passionate about, the things they love. Finishing a difficult phrase of a song with your best friend at a karaoke sing along, as if you both run the establishment. Being picked up and swung around in the warmth of a hug. Receiving a surprise letter in the mail from an unexpected friend. Having a heart-warming conversation with a random stranger that blossoms into a new friendship. Late night talks that last until your eyes are slightly itchy and you realize it’s 4 A.M.

With tiny moments of glory that fill our days, it’s so hard not to break out into a toothy smile. From licking your runny ice-cream cone, to splashing around in fresh puddles, these small glimpses fill our days, culminating in the wonderful joy we call life, and I’m so grateful to be a part of it.