As I'm writing this, I'm coming off a whirlwind of a few days. I'm on the bus on the way to Canada with my college's choir, and as much as I am excited to go out of the country and be able to explore, to sing, and more, I am already anticipating the stress that will come upon my return and the catch up game I'll have to play, considering I have three exams next week.

We are four weeks into the semester, and it feels like all I do is go, go, go. Anytime anyone asks me how I am, my immediate reaction is to respond with "busy, but good" or "tired". Maybe you all have experienced something similar.

As I tried to decide what I should write about this week, I consulted a good friend of mine who told me, quite frankly, to stop doing anything right now and to just relax.

The thing is, I've realized recently that I'm not sure I know how. I've forgotten how to stop and breathe.

My days consist of class, doing work, rehearsals, and somehow fitting in eating and working out on top of it all. I constantly feel like I'm "running out of time," yet I'd never want to cut out anything because truth be told, I enjoy my classes, the people in my a cappella group are my best friends, and everything I else I do is something I'm passionate about.

Yet in these whirlwind days that seem to have no end, I find myself exhausted, and I realize something has to change.

The answer? Step in the puddle.

(I have an explanation, don't worry).

That same friend who told me to stop and relax asked me recently when the last time I stepped in a puddle was. When she asked, I was caught off guard. Was this something I was supposed to know? Do people keep track?

The point is, nobody knows the last time they stepped in a puddle because it is one of those childish, everyday moments that we seem to overlook and under appreciate as we grow older. My friend shared with me how one day, she was having a bad day and purposefully stepped in a puddle and made a splash, and it made her smile and instantly feel better.

So yes, maybe our days may be filled with countless activities and interactions and work and jobs and so much and you feel like sometimes, your head might just explode.

But you need to step in that puddle.

You need to take a second to remember that it's the little moments that matter most, that when it comes down to it, what you'll remember in five years isn't that test you might not have done that well on, but that moment in rehearsal when you and your group found their voice or that moment when you reached out to a stranger and they became a friend.

My life isn't going to get any less crazier, and I doubt yours will either. Would it be better to free up our schedules more so we have time to breathe? Maybe.

But when this might not be feasible, our perspective and the way we live our life makes all the difference.

If we shift our mindset from seeing our days as busy to seeing our days filled with simple, happy everyday moments, at the end of our 9 am- 9 pm filled days, we'll find ourselves feeling energized instead of depleted. We'll find the joy in being alive. We'll find that satisfaction that comes on a rainy day.

So readers, take that advice and the next time you see a puddle, step in it.

Life's too short to allow busyness to prevent happiness.

Talk soon,

Sam