Want to hear one of the best pieces of advice I've ever gotten?

Relax!

Breathe. Take time away from your everyday life to give yourself a break. Go on a planned vacation, or just get away for a weekend.

I am constantly enthralled in my own life; academics, trying to work when I can, spending time with family, working towards progressing my career, etc. Of course I take time for unproductive activities such as excessively sleeping past a reasonable hour, going out with my friends, or simply sitting around doing nothing. But rarely do I ever allot time to truly escape it all.

For some people (such as myself), it's hard to coordinate an efficient amount of finances suitable for a lavish vacation. However, as I've found out, this isn't always necessarily what you need.

We spend so much time working and focusing on school and perfecting our lives that we don't appreciate what's right in front of our faces.

It's difficult to see it though. Being trapped in your day to day routine gets mundane. Switching it up and temporarily forgetting about all of your stresses and worries becomes something that you constantly think about and strive for. As I've gotten older and amassed additional, as well as increasingly challenging responsibilities, my thought process has evolved from that of a little kid to an adult. It might just be because of this process, but I've realized that I (and many other people) do not get enough time to live carefree.

I think that small vacations and getaways are the gateway to facilitate this passion and relaxation we all harbor deep inside of us. We look around at the world in awe of the wrong things. We love money, sports cars, nice suits, fancy dinners, expensive clothes and make up, the list of materialized possessions goes on and on. But we don't make time for what really matters.

Now yes, some vacations require money to have a good time and experience certain things. That isn't the whole of it though. We don't appreciate the beauty of nature, the people we have with us, and the peace and quiet of being away. Don't clean up your mess right away, focus on only having fun, clear your head of stress from work, and just live the way you want to. After all, isn't that the point of a vacation? To lose yourself in another setting with great people – forget your worries and tribulations. Going somewhere, reflecting on the positives of your life, and simply enjoying yourself, is vital. We would go crazy without a vacation every now and then. So many events and stresses take such a heavy toll on our lives that we frequently find ourselves not even able to get away for a couple of days to rest.

Which is exactly why we need to even more.