There are two types of people in the world: dreamers and do-ers. After spending four semesters in a small school in central Massachusetts, I've learned the middle ground between the two: start making your dreams into a reality and go do something.
The photo above is from a spur of the moment decision the night before between my best friend Dan and I. We agreed to wake up at 5 am, drive to the airport, and watch the sunrise. When we returned back to school we were greeted with responses like "I could never do that!" "I would love to go and do that but... no way" and similar words. But no one joined us in our adventure that morning.
Everyone hopes to have a life made for the movies filled with happiness, adventures, exploration and of course, a great Instagram to show it all off. But in reality, we all sit back on the couch or at our desk, looking at the work week ahead of us, dreading the next assignment due and looking forward to the end of the work day. This is normal, and it's okay to feel like this sometimes. Frankly, it's okay to feel like this more often than not.
But... Why are you waiting for your life to come to you? Adventures are just that, adventures, and they will not walk up to your doorstep and beg for you to join them in the world. They will not set a map in front of you and beg to be found. In fact, they often hide. Your adventures are up to you and how badly you want them. And in that quest for your goal, you're a part of the adventure, because it's not a destination, it's the path you're traveling.
Students, take some time out of your crazy busy schedules and go spend some time in nature. Go for a hike or climb a mountain, you don't even need to plan on it, just go. You'll be amazed at what you can learn from climbing over rocks and holding the hands of your friends as they help you jump across a stream.
Well, maybe not this stream.
But all jokes aside, we all need to stop being bystanders in our own lives. We have maximum 100 years to live and by now, if you just graduated high school, you have a little over 80 years left, if you just graduated college, you have a little under 80 years left. Do you understand?
We have a finite amount of time on this planet and what you make of that time is what you will remember it as. So go out, go adventure, and stop saying maybe. Any opportunity, whether the outcome is good or bad, is a learning experience.
The biggest excuse people use when I tell them this philosophy is "I don't have the money." Well.. I must say, you will never have the money. Because mortgages happen, student loans happen, life gets in the way of those perfect plans. So, take that $50 in your bank account that your parents gave you as a mid-semester pick me up and grab a group of friends and go climb a mountain. Use it for gas money and any park fees, maybe grab a bite to eat on your way. It will be worth it.
At the end of the day, your life is what you make it. What are you waiting for? Go and make it.
