At some point in all of our lives, we experience times of hardship and sadness. We may feel as if we have ourselves buried so deep in darkness, that it is nearly impossible to crawl out. Everyone has different hardships, but the emotions people have from those times are all similar. We become introverted, sad, angry, anxious, and we just don’t understand why. We may struggle to find the slightest bit of happiness everyday. With that being said, during these hard times it is most important to remind yourself of the smallest of things. Even though sometimes it may not seem like it, each and every day holds something good or beautiful. Whenever you’re struggling to find that one thing, think of the things in your everyday life that you may look past, such as something as silly as the sun.

The sun shining high in the sky is something many people take for granted because it is there almost every day. If you really think about it though, there’s nothing like a beautiful day outside in the warm sun, or watching the sun rise or set. Watching the sunset has to be one of my favorite things to do. Anytime I am sad or having a bad day, I make time to watch the sunset at my favorite park near home, or through my dorm window. There is something so satisfying and captivating about watching the sun that makes even my worst days better. This may be a funny way to look at it but sometimes just as we have bad days, the sun does too. When it’s cloudy or stormy the sun doesn’t shine and it’s hard to even see it rise or set. If there’s a bad storm that lasts for days at a time, we may even feel as if we will never see the sun shine again. Though, in reality we all know it will.

In a way, the sun is similar to a person. People go to sleep and wake up each day while the sun rises and sets each day. Additionally, everyone has bad days sometimes, just as there are some days that the sun doesn’t shine. We get obstacles thrown our way when we least expect it, just as the sun gets blocked by clouds or encounters a storm without warning. It is comforting to know that even when we feel alone during dark times, we can relate to something as silly as the sun. We should think of our hard times the same way we think of storms because they will all pass with time. And so as the sun rises and sets on these first few days of the new year, we should remember that with each new day upon us is a clean slate and a chance to start over.