I had a meltdown this week. A big one. Waves of stress crashed over me as my essay refused to print and I became late for a presentation. It felt like the end of my student life. All of these big questions rolled into my mind: Is the stress of college worth it? How will I make it through grad school? Shouldn't this be the easy part of life before I head into the ''real" world? It seems like everyone tells me that life is going to get more difficult; to have fun now as a college student.
What if we were determined to rise above all of the difficulties of life and living in a fulfilling way? We need to recognize the parameters of our responsibilities and balance those with our desire to have fun. I reject that only certain segments of our lives, our childhood and early adulthood, can be fun because we have to recognize the autonomy we have over our lives. My anxiety can be so crippling to the point of shutting down my whole life, but if I just remind myself that I have the opportunity to put my feet on the floor and make the day the best it can be, then my anxiety doesn't win. My faith in God and my friends and family help me so much. Certainly, extraordinary circumstances like illness, debt, and death occur, but every day if we just set aside time to live, we would feel so much more full and useful.
Fulfillment doesn't have to mean only achieving your own goals, but helping someone else achieve theirs. Be a blessing in someone else's life, and a good way to do this is to be active in relationships. Turn your phone off and actually listen to the other person when you go out for coffee. Help your friend move that hideous floral couch to the dump. Advocate for another person's rights to education, food, clean water, and healthcare resources. It shocked me when I read that one of the leading causes of death for children under five in Sub Saharran Africa and around the world is diaherral diseases, because the drinking water is inadequate and unsafe to drink, according to the World Health Organization. If we all gave one bottle of water, we could eradicate this problem in others' lives. Be aware of what is going on in the world.
Learn about our government and the implications of the government's decisions, because they affect ALL of us. Don't passively accept authority, challenge authority when its' unjust. Civil Rights, the 19th amendment, and Declaration of Independence are all the result of someone challenging authority. You are a citizen of this country, use your voice.
I cannot guarantee that life is going to be easy in any way, but I can say from experience that if you live with intention, there's no reason why your life shouldn't be fulfilling.
